Investment Update on the Barings Frontier Markets Fund Feb 2014
Recent Performance
2013 was a positive year for frontier markets, with the MSCI Frontier Markets index returning, in US dollar terms, 27.1% on a total return basis.* This performance was driven by a number of factors, with inflows into the asset class remaining strong, in contrast to the outflows witnessed in emerging markets. For the year to date, the index has risen 1.4% in US dollar terms on a total return basis, which compares to a fall of 8.3% for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.*

The London Film Museum and EON Productions are delighted to announce that the BOND IN MOTION exhibition, the largest official collection of original James Bond vehicles, will be on display for the first time in London from 21 March.

An evening at Manchester’s Cornerhouse recently brought to mind a post-modern question. What constitutes a film?
The obvious answer, of course, is filmed footage in either digital or celluloid form. Yet for many people the definition would probably be more focused on narrative. That is, after all, the most prominent type of ‘film’, and for most people the idea of watching anything else- for example the experimental work of Jeff Keen- would be rather obscure (and, in the case of said practitioner, at times quite terrifying).

Bentley presented their new fragrance for men, Azure, at the Langham Hotel London last night. It was a great evening and I was feeling pretty dapper, having just been groomed by the celebrated and charming Brent Pankhurst. Pankhursts is the most refined barber in London, providing iconic 60's British luxury and style.

On Sunday 2 February Sunborn Gibraltar was escorted to her permanent home in Ocean Village Marina. Accompanied by flat calm seas and bright sunshine, a crowd gathered to witness the arrival of this game-changing yacht hotel.

Classic Car Investment
It comes as no surprise over the last decade when banks have performed so poorly that canny investors are looking for alternative methods of increasing their capital. Anything to beat the poor interest rates available from savings accounts and traditional investments.
One of the most interesting to emerge recently is classic car investment. Not only can you invest in something that carries great history, looks fantastic and brings a certain cachet of glamour, but you get a good rate of return.

In a landmark achievement in the fight against conflict minerals, the leading industry initiative on conflict minerals, the Conflict-Free Sourcing Initiative (CFSI), has validated conflict-free smelters or refiners of all four conflict minerals for the first time in the initiative’s five-year history. The CFSI calls on more smelters and refiners to join the effort to become conflict-free by undergoing the CFSI’s independent, third-party conflict minerals audit.

What was the first watch that you owned?
- I don’t even know if this watch belonged to a brand or had any name, actually it was just providing time and at the moment it was enough for me. It is exactly what luxury watches do not do: simply display time, it is so much more than this…
How did you start in the industry?

Former World Touring Car champion Rob Huff is the latest star name to confirm his attendance at the Goodwood 72nd Members’ Meeting on 29-30 March, 2014.
The 34-year-old Englishman, who claimed his WTCC title in 2012, will race in the Gerry Marshall Trophy for Group 1 touring cars and also take part in the weekend’s high-speed demonstration of turbocharged Formula 1 machinery.

Despite the Air of Positivity at Davos, European Consumer Confidence Takes a Dip, with 73% Not Seeing the Economic Outlook Improving in 2014, Says New AlixPartners Survey
Consumers on both sides of the Atlantic plan to reduce spending as trust in governments to remedy economic woes ebbs to 10% of surveyed.