AMG Leadership and Former Presidents Alejandro Toledo (Peru) and Fernando de la Rúa (Argentina)

As part of AMG National Trust Bank’s continual assessment of capital market opportunities worldwide, we recently hosted a forum with Alejandro Toledo, former president of Peru, and Fernando de la Rúa, former president of Argentina. The candidness with which they spoke and answered questions was revealing and highlighted the challenges and opportunities for investing in South America.

For example:

• Argentina continues to have issues with inflation and a government trending towards socialism.
• Peru is like a young teenager. It has huge potential, but growing out of its adolescence can be awkward and full of missteps. However, its basic resources will allow it to grow and be prosperous.

Toledo explained that part of Peru’s struggle was a “curse of abundance.” An economy built primarily on exporting natural resources without equal regard to improving human capital cannot be stable or thrive in the way a more diverse economy can. Successful investors understand this and direct their investment accordingly. Chinese investment in Peru and other developing countries has been particularly insightful in understanding this issue.

However, China is not the only country investing in South America, and the environment has become quite competitive. U.S. multi-national companies are also well aware of the need to improve human capital as they invest within developing and emerging markets. They have the advantage in innovation and technology, but China has significant monetary resources and can afford to be quite aggressive.

Over the next decade we will continue to see developing and emerging countries benefit from China’s insatiable demand for resources to sustain its economic growth. The real question is if these countries can break the curse and diversify and grow their economies so they can survive should China falter or reach productive capacity.

Since 2002, AMG National Trust Bank has been proud to sponsor the Annual Boy Scouts Fishing Derby at Cherry Creek State Park. For over 19 years, the event has brought joy to many children with special needs from Denver Metro area schools.

Each September, AMG employees from Denver and Boulder volunteer their time to help over 200 children enjoy activities like fishing, boating, face painting, magic shows, a climbing wall and meeting some of the scaly “friends” that came with the Reptile Guy.

For more information on the event, please see this article from the Denver Boy Scouts*.

*This link will take you to a third-party website for which AMG is not responsible. AMG is not responsible for products or services offered through this site.

The Wall Street Journal identified a lack of checks and balances as “the most glaring red flag in the Madoff scandal” and recommended that investors pay close attention to the levels of internal and regulatory oversight their financial advisors receive.

AMG National Trust Bank is subject to stringent regulation and examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In addition, AMG routinely submits to rigorous financial audits and operational reviews by experienced, knowledgeable and reputable accounting firms. AMG has a full-time compliance officer on staff who reports to an audit committee consisting of independent members of AMG’s board of directors. AMG is well capitalized and has Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insurance on bank deposits.

Annual audits and reviews independently verify a number of safeguards critical to the security of assets held at AMG; specifically:

• The separation of client assets held in securities accounts from corporate assets and independent confirmation of client-owned securities held at third-party custodians,
• Appropriate accounting for client assets and reporting of the assets to the client,
• The existence of, and adherence to, policies and procedures, including dual control over client assets,
• Detailed due diligence on recommended outside investment managers, brokers, and custodians,
• The scrupulous protection of client privacy.

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Investment products: Not FDIC insured • No bank guarantee • May lose value