We’ll be back soon

Dear colleagues,

our usual appointment with Kairos Life takes a break.

The Management is refining the corporate reorganization plan and therefore we are postponing the update on upcoming projects, initiatives and strategies with new guests to the next appointment of this newsletter.

The new European guidelines

ESMA (European Securities and Markets Authority) is the European authority of financial instruments and markets which has the main objective of improving investor protection and promoting stable and orderly financial markets.

On February 2, 2022, the new guidelines (ESMA guidelines n.34-45-1272) on marketing communications came into force pursuant to the regulation on the cross-border distribution of funds, to which CONSOB complies, integrating them into its practices of supervision.

Why disclose this in our internal newsletter?

Because this is an important change that impacts the method and substance of asset managers’ communication and therefore involves many of us, from spokepersons, to salespeople, to managers as well.

To give you a rough idea of what is expected, we briefly summarize the main topics covered by the new guidelines which will therefore be kept in mind when preparing a marketing and / or commercial document to be delivered to the final customer, such as comments the management of funds, presentations, written columns, videos or podcasts and any other communication that falls within the scope of application of the aforementioned legislation.

CLARITY

First of all, the legislation reaffirms the need to adopt a simple and easily understandable language, avoiding English – when writing in Italian – and too technical terms as much as possible. If the use of these term proves to be necessary, especially with professional interlocutors, it is advisable to add a brief explanation of the meaning.

TRANSPARENCY

Communication must avoid overly optimistic expressions such as “the best fund” or “the best manager”, which would diminish the risk associated to the investment. The information provided to customers must not be a “promise” or a “guarantee” of any result and obviously must be aligned with what is contained in the offer documentation.

PERFORMANCE

The legislation also introduces new rules for information on past performance. The reference periods for the exposure of past returns have changed: 10 years for funds that produce KIIDs or 5 years for other funds, or for the years in which funds are offered, if lower. Performance information must be based on complete 12-month periods, except for the possibility of integrating the representations with the current year’s performance updated to the most recent calendar quarter.

Significant changes that have affected past performance, such as a change in management or investment policy, do not result in the loss of the track record.

The prohibition of aggregating data on returns from different funds remains, albeit envisaged only for simulations of future returns.

RISKS

Another aspect that is introduced in the ESMA regulations is the importance of giving equal clarity and evidence to risks and returns. It is not only necessary to indicate the advantages of the investment, but also to highlight its specific risks, including the loss of capital. It is essential for the regulator to adequately explain the complexity of the financial product and the risks arising from the investment to help investors make informed choices.

TRUTHNESS

It reaffirms the need for all graphics, research, numerical data or information that compare products, investment funds, sectors, etc. to be accompanied by the source and the reference period.

RESPONSIBILITY

In light of all the new provisions, all the disclaimers that must be included in marketing communications have been revised. They will be made available shortly, replacing those currently in use.

All marketing materials will therefore be progressively updated on the basis of the new guidelines and made available on the Compliance intranet.

For any doubts and needs, the Marketing office and the Compliance office remain available

To read the full text of the new regulation please click here

Technological updating to improve business efficiency

In a landscape of exponential growth in the world of digitalization, it is evident that it is now more than ever essential for companies to be able to keep up with the times, equipping themselves with all the necessary tools to make the transition to the near future as efficient as possible.

Even Kairos is now facing the need to update its IT infrastructure, investing in new digital solutions, which not only replace obsolete services, but which further improve the so-called “employee experience” by enhancing human work, supporting it and increasing its potential.

It is no coincidence that the company relaunch program also includes an important investment in technology that can serve as fuel for the real engine of the company, its people.

But what are the expected IT updates? We asked Roberto, Chief Information Officer, who in these days is completing one of the many steps of the infrastructural reorganization of our IT systems.

Q: Hi Roberto, let’s start from an initial consideration, in recent years Kairos has been trying to fill the technological deficits made necessary, on the one hand, by the inevitable IT progress and, on the other, also by the evolution from the traditional way of working (e.g. smart working).

A: Yes exactly, Kairos has recently decided to renew its IT infrastructure, so that it will be able to guarantee an IT environment that is first and foremost safe, as reliable as possible and that proves to be easy to use for the user, adapting to the evolution of working needs.

Q: The process of renewing our digital skills seems very complex and full of stages: what steps have already been taken in this direction?

A: The first step, which ended last year, involved intervention primarily on corporate IT security systems through a change of our firewall, the system that is used to filter data traffic and block any dangerous or unwanted transmissions. The new system now guarantees Kairos the highest safety standards on the market.

The second step, just completed, consisted in moving the email structure from the current datacenter to the Microsoft cloud with the Office 365 solution.

Q: What are the advantages of this new solution in practice?

A: With this new tool, Kairos users are in a renewed Office environment, with many more features than the previous one that will help users work better and faster wherever they are. Office 365 is a smart solution that allows employees through a single platform to access multiple applications (such as, for example, Microsoft Teams) to organize meetings, chat, call each other, create work groups, exchange files or collaborate directly in the creation of a document, everything in one place. 

Q: And what will be the next steps in the corporate digitalization process?

A: The domain and the servers will soon be updated and moved to a private cloud, guaranteeing significantly higher performance than the current ones. Finally, the entire part of the wifi network, telephone exchange and video will be restructured, bringing the company towards a “unified messaging” technology, where the videos and telephones become one: wherever the employee is, he can use his company telephone extension on his mobile phone or make a video call thus making landline network, video systems and mobile telephony integrated.

Our socially responsible commitment keeps going on

Kairos’ path in terms of responsible commitment continues: there are two initiatives in which we are currently involved.

As you know, we have renewed in view of the Christmas festivities our collaboration with the Francesca Rava Foundation – NPH Italia Onlus: with the “Palla al Centro” project, launched in 2021 at the Cesare Beccaria Juvenile Penal Institute in Milan, the Foundation has set itself the aim of promoting positive contamination between the community and young inmates, with training activities and practices aimed at their growth, recovery and inclusion in the society.

While the activity, planned to involve us directly in the field – with the participation of some volunteer colleagues in a whitewashing day in the common areas of the prison –, has been postponed due to the pandemic to a date yet to be established, part of the donation has already been made with the purchase of 40 mattresses, 40 pillows in fireproof material, 80 sheets and pillowcases, which were delivered for Christmas.

As soon as the emergency situation improves, we will plan new dates together with the Foundation and the Beccaria Institute to get involved with the guys and give our personal contribution to the project. We will keep you posted!

Since the beginning of December we have been supporting another ESG initiative: two years after the success of “Il Museo della Follia”, Kairos confirmed his commitment to the art and culture sector – severely affected by the pandemic – by sponsoring the exhibition “I Pittori della luce” (The painters of light) in Lucca.

Inaugurated on December 8, the exhibition curated by Vittorio Sgarbi is proposed as a path, capable of telling the role of light in painting through the masterpieces of the seventeenth century: more than 100 works from the main Italian museums, as well as from prestigious private collections and international artists, starting from the pictorial talent of Caravaggio up to Pietro Paolini, one of Lucca’s best known exponents of the Caravaggisti and Tuscan naturalism.

For Kairos this is a new opportunity to contribute to the national and international relaunch project that has our country as its protagonist: we recall that “Opportunità Italia” is one of the narrative strands undertaken in 2021 that will also be the protagonist of this 2022.

It is possible to visit the exhibition until 2 October 2022 at the Ex Cavallerizza in Lucca. For more information visit the website: www.contemplazioni.it/ipittoridellaluce/

Goal 11

The role of the Mobility Manager for a more sustainable city

With the recent Green Deal, the European Union has set itself the target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. And go clearly in this direction also the joint efforts of the two Italian Ministries of Ecological Transition and Infrastructure and Sustainable Mobility, that gave shape, last May, to the n.179 Decree, containing some measures to ease the decongestion of urban traffic and encourage sustainable mobility: a challenge even more difficult to win at the time of Covid, having to deal with an important issue of individual safety and security.

The new decree, however, imply an important step forward for the achievement of one of the 17 Goals contained in the United Nations 2030 Agenda, more particularly the eleventh which aims at the transition to sustainable cities and communities.

The new legislation provides for all companies and public administrations with more than 100 employees, located in a regional or provincial capital, in a metropolitan city or in any case in a municipality with more than 50,000 inhabitants, the adoption of a Mobility Manager with functions of support for the planning and promotion of optimal sustainable mobility solutions and the drafting, by 31st December of each year, of a Home-Work Travel Plan (PSCL: Piano Spostamenti Casa Lavoro) of its employees which must contain:

-an information and statistical part.

-a project part with possible measures to be taken to improve the company’s environmental impact.

Kairos, falling under the scope of the new regulation, decided to rely on an external consultant, Ecoconsult srl, which for the year 2021 collected, through anonymous questionnaires, the habits of almost the entire company population.

From the Travel Plan developed stands out that about 83% of employees already use at least one public transport every day while only 10% prefer the car, traveling more than 30km a day. On the other hand, we see a closer percentage gap, when we take into consideration the possible option of extending Smart Working even after the pandemic: 54% are in favor (with an average monthly saving of 45 euros, 60 minutes of time and 50 km of distance) against 46% of those against.

For this very first analysis, and on the basis of the questionnaires received, Ecoconsult was also able to estimate the annual production of pollutants in Kairos, which would be around 1400kg of CO2 (considering 240 fully operational working days per year without any smart working).

Important data, albeit estimated, which however give us a rough idea of ​​what the environmental impact of the company could be, and which will guide Kairos, in the coming months and years to come, in its activity of limiting emissions, promoting sustainable mobility, as well as training and promoting environmental awareness, to contribute in our own small way to achieving the coveted Goal 11.

Trust science? A film and two books before really delving into it

Let’s start this 2022 with the good old habits! Below are some suggestions, not only for reading, from our strategist Alessandro.

“Don’t Look Up, a depressing and funny satirical film that is becoming very popular, about the discovery of a comet that will crash into the Earth in six months destroying almost all forms of life. The scientific community unanimously confirms prediction, politics and the media continue unworried in their usual schemes and use it for their own partisan purposes. Public opinion is divided between indifferent, deniers, conspiracists and the few who are aware. Many find refuge in reassuring practices. In transparency, the debate on climate change and the one on the pandemic can be seen as the real goal of the screenwriters.

In any case, on the one hand there is Science with a capital letter, on the other, irrationalism.

But is science really like that, always perfect and definitive in its irrefutable affirmations? The older ones certainly remember the advice of the science of nutrition up to thirty years ago. Red meat, milk, eggs, butter, now viewed with suspicion, were highly recommended. Doctors in white coats promoted menthol cigarettes as beneficial. The previous generation gave cocaine syrup to children with sore throats according to medical advise. And still in the 1950s bloodletting was practiced with leeches, which instead of healing patients weakened them. So how many of our science-based beliefs today will be viewed with horror in thirty years? Einstein himself promoted, in the context of the general theory of relativity, a thesis, that of the static universe, which was denied by the author himself in the following years.

When Science Goes Wrong is a book that presents a series of glaring failures of scientific practice in recent years. Science Was Wrong, another book, instead focuses on the wrong predictions made by men of science.

These two books are just an appetiser for more serious studies in the philosophy and the sociology of science. Understanding how science is based on doubt and contradiction (and not on stainless certainties) and understanding how much science is conditioned by power, ideology and research funds can help to understand it as a much more articulated and complex phenomenon than we often believe. After all, if you think about it, the same happens in the so-called economic sciences with which we are confronted in Kairos every day”.