What Investment articles from April 2003

What Investment archives from April 2003

The $64,000 question.(Comment)
April 1, 2003... As UK markets struggle through yet another month of uncertainty, volatility and disappointing data, you're probably all wondering just when this depressing era for investments is going to come to an end. Just don't look to the fund...

In the doghouse.(News)
April 1, 2003... The 2003 Bestinvest Spot the Dog guide is now available. The guide highlights those funds that have consistently underperformed their benchmarks in each of the last three years and offers advice on how to keep your portfolio 'dog-free'. For a...

Book draw.(News)
April 1, 2003... We have six copies of Investing Basics and six copies of Choosing Shares to give away this month. Part of the Essential Finance series of books published by Dorling Kindersley, the books aim to provide accessible, step-by-step explanations of...

Free factsheets.(News)
April 1, 2003... Weston Financial Group has upgraded its website to allow investors to download the group's top 10 most popular financial guides and factsheets for free. The top 10 will be updated and changed in line with requests received. Visit the website at...

Active versus trackers.(News Round-up)
April 1, 2003... Tracker funds aren't worth the risk in time current market climate, according to ISIS Asset Management's CIO Robert Talbut. As the long-standing active versus passive fund management debate flares up once more, Talbut has cautioned...

Bank on Sainsbury's.(News Round-up)
April 1, 2003... Sainsbury's Bank is to enter the investment market with a series of FTSE 100 index-tracker ISAs and an income ISA offering a target annual yield of 5.75 per cent. The bank is convinced that many of the recommendations made by Ron Sandler...

With-profits service.(News)
April 1, 2003... Negative press comment on with-profits bonds is largely justified, according to IFA Chartwell. However, the IFA fears that this bad publicity may result in a degree of panic selling, with investors surrendering bonds when perhaps this is not...

Finance at your fingertips.(News)
April 1, 2003... Online advisory service www.adviceonline.co.uk has been relaunched to cope with an increase in demand. The site, which provides product guides and online calculators covering all areas of saving, borrowing, investing and retiring, is a one-stop...

Masters of the bond universe.(News)
April 1, 2003... FundsNetwork, Fidelity Investments' online fund supermarket, has launched Bond Masters, a fund package designed to deliver a high level of income to ISA investors from a diversified selection of bond funds. The package is made up of four...

Guide to VCTs.(News)
April 1, 2003... Hargreaves Lansdown's Guide to VCTs 2003 is now available. The guide highlights the latest VCT launches and assesses their attractiveness to investors. What Investment readers can get a free copy of the guide by calling 0800 138 0456.

The annuity trap.(News)
April 1, 2003... Annuity rates are set to fall further, according to research by equity release intermediary Key Retirement Solutions. The research reveals that 80 per cent of IFAs believe annuity rates will fall over the next 12 months by an average of 2.5 per...

Spread your risks.(News)
April 1, 2003... Jupiter Unit Trust Managers has launched a guide to distribution funds. The guide explains the purpose of the funds, how they are structured, the tax benefits and how they can be used as the cautious basis of a diversified portfolio. Call 0500...

ISA discounts.(News)
April 1, 2003... One hundred and twenty-four AITC investment trust company members have special discounts this ISA season, including offers from Baillie Gifford, Close Finsbury, First State, ISIS, Martin Currie and Witan. To find out more visit the AITC website...

Taking issue: Nic Cicutti reports on the latest issues rocking the world of finance.(News)
April 1, 2003... Are we all greedy? Do we make stupid investment decisions as a result? If so, we have been correctly psychoanalysed by the chief executive of one of the UK's biggest fund management groups. Simon Davies of Threadneedle Investments...

Top ten funds.(News)
April 1, 2003... Top ten funds Unit trusts One year Performance 1 Deutsche GbISpPassEurGovBd B 117.94 2 Merrill Lynch Gold 117.51 3 Five Arrows GI EuroBd A GBP A 117.00...

New offers: we examine what the latest savings and investment plans have to offer investors. Each product has been given a start rating, representing its overall value for money, based on cost, terms and conditions and invstment opportunity.
April 1, 2003... * NDF NDF has launched the Double Growth Plan 2, which offers investors a choice of fixed or variable growth potential linked to the FTSE 100. Investors can opt for double the rise in the FTSE 100 over five and a half years with a 100 per...

Premier Fund Managers.(Product of the month)
April 1, 2003... Premier Fund Managers has launched the Premier Protected Growth Plan. The plan offers 100 percent protection of original capital plus 100 per cent of the growth in the FTSE 100 index over a six-year period. There are early maturity bonuses...

NDF.(Also launching this month ...)
April 1, 2003... NDF is launching the Protected Income Plan 2, which offers either 7 per cent annual income over five years (0.54 per cent per month) linked to the Dew Jones Eurostoxx 50, or 6 per cent annual income over five years (0.47 per cent per month)...

Chelsea Building Society.(Also launching this month ...)
April 1, 2003... Chelsea Building Society has launched the Call-Direct 40 Account, which features a variable interest rate with a guarantee that the gross annual interest rate will be at least the same as the bank base rate until 1 July 2004. The minimum...

Mellon Global Investors.(Also launching this month ...)
April 1, 2003... Mellon Global Investors has launched the Protected Newton Higher Income Plan to enable investors to invest in the Newton Higher income fund with a minimum of 100 per cent capital protection. The minimum investment is 5,000 [pounds sterling] and...

Managers on the move: should you stay or should you go? What Investment looks into the reasons behind recent fund manager moves.(Fund managers)
April 1, 2003... At a time of the year when love and romance were supposed to be flourishing, 14 February resembled more a St Valentine's Day Massacre than a cosy meal for two at an overpriced restaurant. For it was on this day that Edinburgh Fund Managers...

Plenty in the tank: Charles Brand explains why there are plenty of bulls left in the equity income shop.(Focus: equity income funds)(Cover Story)
April 1, 2003... With the big bad bear market maintaining its grip on equity markets, it's hard to find a genuine bull these days. Falling prices, accounting scandals and accusations of poor performance have shaken investors' belief that the equity market is a...

The beau stratagem: Keiron Root asks the professional money managers to outline a winning investment strategy for three types of investor with 100,000 [pounds sterling] to invest.(Investing 100,000 [pounds sterling])
April 1, 2003... The appalling returns from global stock markets over the past three years will have deterred many investors from investing in shares. Many will have piled in during the bull run that culminated in the market peak of March 2000, with a lot of...

Hedge fund magic: hedge funds ... friend or foe? Tim Cockerill provides the answers.(Hedge fund update)
April 1, 2003... There has probably never been a more misunderstood investment than the hedge fund. For the words 'hedge fund' many investors read 'high risk', a misconception that hasn't been helped by the few hedge funds that have made the headlines in recent...

Tax tapering: in the final part of his series on taxation of collectives, David Harris explores the impact of taper relief on investors.(Taxation of collectives)
April 1, 2003... Dealing with capital gains tax (CGT) is a chore that most investors abhor. And the task has been made all the more difficult for investors with large portfolios since the changes in CGT treatment came into force. The main change to the CGT...

With-profits or unit-linked? Simon Hildrey reports on the future of with-profits.(With-profits debate)
April 1, 2003... It never rains but it pours in the financial services industry these days, and that couldn't be more true than in the with-profits arena. The New Year brought yet more bad news for with-profits policyholders after suffering falling bonus rates...

Tidy up your PEPs: Neil Jamieson explains why PEPs should still be an active part of your portfolio.(Q & A)
April 1, 2003... Personal equity plans (PEPs) are doubtless an important element in many investors' portfolio of assets, particularly for those who invested through them in the 1990s. Whatever their portfolio size today, each PEP investor must ask the...

Cash is king: What Investment highlights the best-buy savings accounts.(Technology)
April 1, 2003... Savings accounts? Yawn. Who needs one of those when equities are doing so well? Well, exactly. But since equities aren't exactly setting the world on fire and the property market is positioning itself at the edge of a very high and very...

United Kingdom: long road ahead.(World Markets)
April 1, 2003... Valuations are attractive but investors should be prepared for a rocky ride in the short term. The latest cut in UK interest rates has focused attention on the fact that UK shares now have a higher average yield than the base rate, a fact...

United States: the pressure's on.(World Markets)
April 1, 2003... The US is facing one of the most uncertain periods in its history, and investors remain cautious ISIS Asset Management has lowered its house GDP forecast for the US, to take account of the possibility of war with Iraq and the current state...

Europe: confidence crisis.(World Markets)
April 1, 2003... News flow continues to be poor, but there is some light at the end of the tunnel for troubled Germany The lack of positive corporate and economic news flow into the region, and the increasing concern about military conflict in Iraq, is...

Far East: China's on form.(World Markets)
April 1, 2003... Demographics and infrastructure development should allow China to maintain superior growth rates "We expect an ongoing period of sub-par global growth over the coming year," says Michael Karagianis, global strategist at Aberdeen Asset...

Japan: more uncertainty.(World Markets)
April 1, 2003... Market valuations are at historical lows, but the persistence of deflationary conditions means that such measures are almost meaningless The TOPIX fell dramatically again this month, led once more by the banks, as the bankruptcy of theme...

Emerging markets: oily issues.(World Markets)
April 1, 2003... War in Iraq and issues in Venezuela will keep the oil market tight over the summer "In emerging Europe, the delayed Turkish parliamentary vote regarding a request from the US government to station significant numbers of American soldiers...

Market insider: USA: continuing our series providing a fundamental analysis of a region from an economic and political perspective. This month, Michael Wilson considers the outlook for the US.(World Markets)
April 1, 2003... By the time you read this, the chances are that the Iraq situation will be all over bar the infighting. President George W Bush commands such a powerful military force, backed up by such a solid congressional majority, that it's very hard...

Market view.(UK Shares)
April 1, 2003... February was a curious month. St Valentine's Day came and went with no widespread massacres either in the deserts of Iraq or indeed on the equity markets. Bulls tried to take some comfort from the emergence of a couple of high profile contested...

UK stock performance.(UK Shares)
April 1, 2003... UK STOCK PERFORMANCE Rank Company Weight in 1 Month Name Index Return TOP 20 FTSE All-Share 1 Filtronic 0.007% 40.15% 2 ...

FTSE 100 index.(UK Shares)
April 1, 2003... FTSE 100 INDEX Stock 1 month Rank 1 year Rank 3i Group 96.75 68 70.28 56 Abbey National 97.01 66 43.26 90 Alliance & Leicester ...

Index constituent rankings FTSE 100.(UK Shares)
April 1, 2003... INDEX CONSTITUENT RANKINGS FTSE 100 RANK Stock Price Dividend Yield (%) 1 BP 400 3.91 2 ...

Utilities sector view.(UK Shares)
April 1, 2003... Worried that the market is about to take a bath? You are not alone. Historically, those feeling nervous about shares but wishing to maintain an exposure to the markets look to the utilities as a 'safe haven'. While demand for electricity has an...

Utilities share view.(UK Shares)
April 1, 2003... Scottish Power is one of the least successful of the diversifiers. In the UK it started life as a regionally based vertically integrated power business (i.e. doing everything from generation to supply), subsequently set up its own telecoms...

European sector review: Hilary Cook, director of investment strategy at Barclays Private Clients, examines the prospects for the European semiconductor sector.(Stock Market Review)
April 1, 2003... Lesson one: a semiconductor is a substance that can conduct electricity under certain circumstances, controlling the flow of electric current. Lesson two: a microchip is a semiconductor wafer on which thousands of millions of tiny transistors...

European stock performance.(Stock Market Review)
April 1, 2003... EUROPEAN STOCK PERFORMANCE Rank Company Weight in 1 Month Name Index Return Top 20 FTSE World Europe 1 Banca Antonventa 0.11%...

Unit trust best buys: What Investment asks three independent financial advisers to recommend their favourite unit trusts for a cautious, a balanced and an aggressive investment.(Unit Trusts Monitor)
April 1, 2003... CAUTIOUS OPTION Stephen Marriott, fund analyst at Bestinvest Brokers, offers the recently launched Managed Distribution fund from New Star Asset Management as a promising option for cautious investors. The fund has no performance record...

Performance tables.(Unit Trusts OEICs)
April 1, 2003... Unit trust performance tables What the tables show The figures show the value of 100 [pounds sterling] over six months, one, three, five and ten years to 28 February 2003, on an offer-to-bid basis with net income reinvested. Funds...

Taking a global view: Brenda Reed outlines her investment strategy for the recently launched Fidelity Global Focus fund to Keiron Root.(Fund Manager Profile)
April 1, 2003... One of the side-effects of the poor performance of investment. markets over the past three years has been the reluctance of fund management houses to launch new funds. Although investment logic dictates that the best time to invest is close to...

Investment trust best buys: What Investment asks three independent financial advisers to recommend their favourite investment trusts for a cautious, a balanced and an aggressive investment.(Investment Trusts Monitor)
April 1, 2003... CAUTIOUS OPTION Alan Beaney of Principal Investment Management suggests Temple Bar as an option for cautious investors. The trust is ranked 8th out of 21 trusts in the UK Growth and Income sector over three years. It has returned -2.36 per...

Performance tables.(Investment Trusts)
April 1, 2003... What the tables show The figures show the value of 100 [pounds sterling] over six months, one, three, five and ten years to 28 February 2003, on a mid-market basis with net income reinvested. Funds are listed by sector so that you can...

Compensation claims.(Money clinic)
April 1, 2003... In 1994/95 I invested 6,000 [pounds sterling] in Aberdeen High Income investment trust, following favourable press and advertisements from the company. As you will be aware, the investment company has now been put into administration, and...

Power exchange.(Money clinic)
April 1, 2003... I am a 61-year-old widower and retired from a Civil Service post two years ago. I have a home worth around 350,000 [pounds sterling], and assets that are worth around 200,000 [pounds sterling]. I may also inherit some substantial assets in the...

Property plans.(Money clinic)
April 1, 2003... I've been introduced to the idea of joining a property buying club through a friend of mine. The concept sounds quite straightforward: group/bulk buying enables the club organisers to negotiate discount deals with off-plan developers....

Best ways to save.(Reference)
April 1, 2003... NO-NOTICE ACCOUNTS Account Gross Interest Company Name Rate Freq. Balance of 500 [pounds sterling] Abbey National eSaver **...

Personal pension annuity rates.(Reference)
April 1, 2003... An annuity is a financial product that converts capital into income. You can buy one with any lump sum of money or you can buy one with accrued pension funds. Currently, for money purchase pension funds, you must buy an annuity by the time you...

Top-performing unit-linked pensions.(Reference)
April 1, 2003... Top-performing unit-linked pensions Five years to 28 February 2003. Results of 100 [pounds sterling] invested on an offer-to-bid basis with gross income reinvested. Name Value Rank ...