According to Black Knight, a real estate data and analytics company, home prices declined 0.77% from June to July, the first monthly decline in almost three years. While the decline may seem small, the number bucks the trend of July as a typical strong month for home price appreciation. Affordability is at a 30 year low, requiring 32.7% of a median U.S. household income with a 20% down payment and a 30-year mortgage. Some of the hardest hit U.S. cities in the month of July included Seattle (-7.7%), San Francisco (-7.4%) and San Diego (-5.6%).
“We’re now seeing exactly that, with July’s data providing clear evidence of a significant inflection point in the market...Further price corrections are likely on the horizon as we move into what are typically more neutral seasonal months for the housing market."
SaNOtize, a biotechnology company, has raised $24M in its Series B funding round that included Li Ka-Shing's single-family office, Horizons Ventures
Hong Kong-based Hillhouse Family Office has taken part in a $10M Series A deal with Airgram, an AI-powered meeting productivity tool
Cox Enterprises engaged in a Series A investment with Motivo, a virtual clinical platform for employers throughout the behavioral health sector, totaling $14M
Moore Ventures finalizes on a $32M Series E follow-on deal with Shiprocket, India's only automated shipping solution for eCommerce
Arsenal Capital Raises $5.4B, Launches First Growth Fund
Arsenal Capital Partners has announced the completion of funding for two new funds, their sixth flagship fund and a growth fund. The first in the firm's history, the growth fund will target a number of high-technology companies that are poised for rapid growth. Some noteworthy institutions that backed the fund included UC Investments, Minnesota State Board of Investment and a handful of California retirement systems. Prior to beginning the fundraising process, Arsenal set a $750M goal for the fund, ultimately surpassing it and hitting its hard cap of $1.1B. Terry Mullen, Managing Partner of Arsenal Capital, had this to say about their fund plans:
“We were seeing attractive opportunities in some markets with great long-term trends, and we wanted to invest in earlier stage growth companies."
China Exports to Russia Climb Higher, Testing Pre-War Highs
According to a Bloomberg report, Russia purchased nearly $6.7B worth of goods from China in July, an annual increase of 20%. World sanctions against Russia have prompted Chinese imports, once a minority of the Russian economy, into a major staple, including automobiles produced by Great Wall Motor Co. and Geely Automobile Holdings. With Russian consumer spending levels taking a hit, the rise in imports has played a significant part in keeping the country and their economy afloat. In addition, increases in Russian commodity prices have been a saving grace for their exports, which reached $10B in August.
“Chinese goods are filling the niche left by the exodus of western brands after the war with Ukraine prompted sweeping financial and trade sanctions against Russia."
Benjamin Harvey, Bloomberg
Singapore is Primed for Family Office Growth
In recent years, interest in setting up shop in Singapore has continued to grow for many family offices. Between the years of 2017 and 2019, the number of Singapore-based family offices increased fivefold and nearly doubled from a total of 400 in 2020 to 700 a year later. The country's reputation for being a "safe haven" for wealth in addition to having an optimal tax environment has spurred recent activity. Furthermore, the complexity and scale of new Singapore-based offices are continuing to grow, with full-time management teams steadily increasing in size. Also noteworthy, family offices based in the Asia-Pacific region invested on average 62% of their portfolios in direct investments, pointing to their willingness to aggressively grow their capital. Across the family office landscape, a trend of more women setting up family offices has been seen, with an estimated 70% of intergenerational wealth transfers to be passed down to women according to The Business Times.
Beacon Pointe Advisors has closed on another merger, acquiring $600M Texas-based RIA, Benchmark Private Wealth Management (Cision)
Bucks County, PA-based Penn Community Bank joins Equitable, bringing with them $600M in assets and 950 clients (FAIQ)
A team of Naples, FL-based advisors with more than $4B in client assets has left Wells Fargo to set up their own RIA (WM)
Written by:
Andrew Popp | Data Research Associate
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