What Investment articles from August 2004

What Investment archives from August 2004

A fond farewell.(Comment)
August 1, 2004... After four fantastic years at the helm of What Investment, it is time to wish you all a fond farewell as I move on to pastures new. The time has passed with astonishing speed, much hair-pulling and much enjoyment. It seems like only...

Guide to bonds.(news)
August 1, 2004... Chartwell Direct has produced the 8th edition of its Distribution Bond Guide. Over the last 12 months, there has been a big increase in demand for distribution bonds--mainly from investors either seeking an alternative to with-profits bonds or...

Stop your losses.(news)
August 1, 2004... American Express Sharepeople has launched a limit-orders and stop-loss service, which is free of charge until 1 September 2004. Limit orders and stop-loss orders can be placed on any UK or US stock and can be set for up to 90 days....

A Bee C of investing.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2004... Stockbroker Redmayne Bentley has launched a low-cost monthly investment scheme. Called Plan Bee, the scheme is tailored for less experienced investors and provides an excellent alternative to traditional 'Plan A'-style stock market investment,...

Changing gear.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2004... Average investment trust gearing (borrowing) levels have declined in the past six months as share prices have made little progress, according to the latest statistics from the Association of Investment Trust Companies (AITC). The most...

Risky business.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2004... ISIS Asset Management is seeking to educate investors and advisers about how to measure the risk profiles of investment funds. In particular, ISIS is concerned that a focus on tracking error, that is the extent to which a fund deviates from a...

Keep things flexible.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2004... GE Life is set to enhance its income drawdown product range with the launch of the Phased Drawdown plan. The new plan is designed for investors who require income, but not one-off cash lump sums, and those looking for maximum flexibility...

Correction.(news)(Correction Notice)
August 1, 2004... The fees quoted for the discretionary stock-broking service for Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite in the July issue of What Investment were incorrect. The correct fees for discretionary services are as follows: 0.375 per cent per half year on the...

Measure for measure.(news)
August 1, 2004... Charles Schwab UK has launched the Schwab Equity Ratings and the Street Smart Pro service. Schwab Equity Ratings allows investors to analyse stocks by rating them based on carefully selected, fact-based measures, including fundamentals,...

Taking issue: Nic Cicutti reports on the latest issues rocking the world of finance.(news)
August 1, 2004... Ever since I was a rookie personal finance writer, I have always had a thing about charges levied on financial products. It's not just the fact that they are often far too high, or that they can make a huge dent in overall returns on your...

Top ten funds.(news)
August 1, 2004... Unit trusts One year 1 Legg Mason Japan Equity 229.54 2 Framlington Japan 208.78 3 Invesco GT Jap Enterp USD 200.30 4 Invesco Perp Jap Sm Cos 196.77 5...

New offers: we examine what the latest savings and investment plans have to offer investors. Each product has been given a star rating, representing its overall value for money, based on cost, terms and conditions and investment opportunity.(news)
August 1, 2004... * Revera Asset Management Revera Asset Management has launched the Chameleon Trust, a trust investing in special situations in high-growth UK companies. The fund managers will classify companies as emerging growth, established growth and...

The Lawn Tennis Association.(Also launching this month ...)
August 1, 2004... The Lawn Tennis Association has launched the 'Winning Returns' savings account, offering savers a competitive interest rate of 4.5 percent gross AER (which includes a first-year bonus of 0.5 percent). Interest is paid annually and there are no...

Insight Investment.(Also launching this month ...)
August 1, 2004... Insight Investment has launched the Insight Foundation Property Trust, a Guernsey-domiciled, closed-end property investment company. The portfolio of commercial property in the office, retail and industrial sectors will be actively managed by...

Skipton Building Society.(Also launching this month ...)
August 1, 2004... Skipton Building Society has launched a new issue of its Guaranteed Triple Asset Bond. The product offers the chance to benefit from growth in the stock market and housing market, with a full capital guarantee. Investments are split so that...

Managers on the move: should you stay or should you go? What Investment looks into the reasons behind recent fund manager moves.(Fund managers)
August 1, 2004... The most dramatic news from within the fund management sector over recent weeks concerns the merger of two prominent fund management houses to create the fourth-largest investment house in the UK. At the beginning of July, Friends...

In the dark on ITs? Many investors may overlook them, but they have a lot to offer. Harvey Jones turns the spotlight on investment trusts.(Focus: investment trusts)
August 1, 2004... In the investment fund world investment trusts have long been left in the dark, while their more popular cousin, the unit trust, has taken centre stage. Unit trusts boast bigger marketing budgets and star managers, but that doesn't make them...

The road less traveled: leaving the beaten track can be rewarding and investors with a solid portfolio of core funds could gain much-needed diversity with a specialist fund. Nick Sudbury has suggestions for the adventurous.(Unusual funds)
August 1, 2004... Investors looking for something a little different could find it in the specialist sector, where those funds that don't really fit anywhere else tend to end up. The members of this eclectic group have little or nothing in common, and they span...

Common goals.(Fund manager investors)
August 1, 2004... There are many criteria investors use when selecting funds. Typically these include the track record of the fired, the past performance of the manager, the level of risk taken to achieve this performance, the volatility of returns and the...

Penny shares--small companies, big opportunities: City Equities is an independent privately owned licensed 'principal equity dealer' specialising in UK smaller companies. It was established in December 1992 and operates a private client advisory service, City Equities is Authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.(Advertising Feature)(Advertisement)
August 1, 2004... Opinion as to which direction the stock market is heading is a perennial source of debate, conjecture and forecasting. Much, of course, depends on the economic conditions across the pond, as well as events in the Middle East, but it is in these...

Enterprising investments: it's not just the super-wealthy who can benefit from the tax advantages of the Enterprise Investment Scheme, says Rob Holgate. Smaller investors can also profit.(Q & A)
August 1, 2004... The Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) provides tax incentives to encourage private investors to put equity capital into entrepreneurial, unquoted businesses. It was set up in 1994 as a replacement for the Business Expansion Scheme, which...

What's the deal? Jo Tura reviews the sites that let you buy and sell shares at your desktop.(Technology)
August 1, 2004... In the heady days of the late 1990s online share dealing saw a massive boom. Propelled in part by roaring stock markets, in part by increased internet usage and in part by promotions from the burgeoning number of online trading companies,...

United Kingdom: no fairytale: each month, What Investment speaks to the top-performing fund managers in six global markets and asks them to reveal the key issues currently driving their stock-selection decisions.(World Markets)
August 1, 2004... Nervousness over interest rates at home and abroad is taking its toll on short-term confidence in the market "At first glance, the UK looks the very paragon of the 'not too hot, not too cold' Goldilocks economy," says Haydn Davies, chief...

United States: good news and bad news.(World Markets)
August 1, 2004... Rising interest rates and a stalled market undermine positive news on earnings, and some fear the worst Richard Burns, portfolio manager of the Monks Investment Trust is concerned that a plethora of good news coming out of the US has failed to...

Europe: opportunity knocks.(World Markets)
August 1, 2004... Fund managers play down impact of rate rises and high oil prices on European recovery Stephen Macklow-Smith, manager ofthe JPMorgan Fleming Continental European Investment Trust, is quite bullish about his chosen market. "There is a difference...

Far East: if Japan sneezes ...(World Markets)
August 1, 2004... The fates of Japan and China will play a large part in the success--or failure --of their neighbours Look to Japan if you want to see the future of other Far Eastern economies, says Chris Lees, manager of Tribune Trust's Global Managed...

Japan: consumers key to profits.(World Markets)
August 1, 2004... Opinion is divided on whether Japan's economy can this time achieve a sustained recovery Japan is back in favour--in some quarters, at least. In fact Chris Lees, portfolio manager for Tribune Trust's Global Managed portfolio, claims it is...

Emerging Markets: Eastern Europe to the fore.(World Markets)
August 1, 2004... Brazil tightens its belt, but opportunities abound in the expanded EU "Brazil is about 9 per cent of the portfolio now," says Mark Mobius, head of Global Emerging Markets at Franklin Templeton. "Under Lula they have kept to very...

Market insider: Latin America: continuing our series providing a fundamental analysis of a region from an economic and political perspective. This month, Michael Wilson considers the outlook for Latin America.(World Markets)
August 1, 2004... If we've ever given you the impression that emerging stock markets are worth investing in for their own sake, can we apologise now for misleading you. There are two great, solvent, powerful stock markets out there that have been powering ahead...

Market view.(UK Shares)
August 1, 2004... June was a month of conflicting signals: UK base rates rose again and US base rates were increased for the first time in four years. But the Federal Reserve, at least, signalled that future rate increases would be 'measured'. In the UK the Bank...

UK stock performance.(UK Shares)
August 1, 2004... UK STOCK PERFORMANCE Rank Company Weight in 1 Month Name Index Return TOP 20 FTSE All-Share 1 Tibbett & Britten Group 0.03% ...

FTSE 100 index.(UK Shares)
August 1, 2004... FTSE 100 INDEX Stock 1 month Rank 1 year Rank 3i Group plc 101.38 61 110.92 65 Abbey National 114.37 1 114.79 62 Alliance &...

Index constituent rankings FTSE 100.(UK Shares)
August 1, 2004... INDEX CONSTITUENT RANKINGS FTSE 100 Rank Stock Price Dividend Yield (%) 1 BP 487 ...

OFEX sector view.
August 1, 2004... A couple of months ago we looked at small caps. Now I turn my attention to the really small caps--the OFEX market. OFEX is a more lightly regulated arena for small growth firms. It is not run by the London Stock Exchange, like AIM, but by an...

OFEX share view.
August 1, 2004... If you believe in the OFEX concept, the simplest way to invest in it is to buy shares in OFEX itself. Its management are serious and well respected and with shares priced at 26.5p it is valued at just 5.3 million [pounds sterling]. OFEX is...

European sector review: Hilary Cook, director of investment strategy at Barclays Private Clients, examines the prospects for the European Utilities sector.(Stock Market Review)
August 1, 2004... No matter how awful the economy might become, people will still have to take a shower. People will utilise the utilities--companies that offer essential services such as water, electricity and gas--even in times of extreme economic distress....

European stock performance.(Stock Market Review)
August 1, 2004... European stock performance Rank Company Weight in 1 Month Name Index Return Top 20 FTSE World Europe 1 Fiat 0.09% ...

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.(Monitor)
August 1, 2004... CAUTIOUS OPTION Jonathan Davis, financial planner at IFA Professional Partnerships, suggests the CF Miton Extra Income Portfolio for investors who do not want to take too much risk. The fund is ranked 15 out of 41 funds in the Cautious...

Unit trust performance tables.(Unit Trusts OEICs)
August 1, 2004... 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 30 June 2004, on an offer-to-bid basis with net income reinvested. Funds are...

Emerging star: Keiron Root finds out more about Mark Mobius, doyen of emerging market fund managers.(Profile)
August 1, 2004... Few fund managers dominate an area of the market in the way that Dr Mark Mobius does. As head of the Global Emerging Markets team at Franklin Templeton, he is portfolio manager for no fewer than ten Franklin Templeton funds based in various...

Investment trust best buys: What Investment asks three investment trust specialists to recommend their favourite investment trust shares for a cautious, a balanced and an aggressive investment.(Monitor)
August 1, 2004... CAUTIOUS OPTION Charles Cade, head of investment trust research at Close WINS, points cautious investors in the direction of the small group of trusts investing in portfolios of traded endowment policies (TEPs). He highlights the Allianz...

Investment trust performance tables.(Investment Trusts)
August 1, 2004... Investment trust performance tables The figures show the value of 100 [pounds sterling] over six months, one, three, five and ten years to 30 June 2004, on a mid-market basis with net income reinvested. Funds are listed by sector so that...

No wrapper required?(Money clinic)
August 1, 2004... Over the years I've invested in various investment trust and unit trust ISAs and am currently thinking about this year's investment. As I'm fast approaching retirement I am now more interested in income than in growth --although it would be...

Point of interest.(Money clinic)
August 1, 2004... The yield on permanent interest-bearing shares (PIBS) is consistently around 7 per cent. This is high, compared with gilts (around 4.8 per cent) and building society savings accounts (around 4.3 per cent). Does this make PIBS a good buy? ...

Unsure on offshore.(Money clinic)
August 1, 2004... I am looking to put some money away for my two grandchildren--currently aged two and four. For tax reasons I think it would be a good idea to put the investments in an offshore account, bond or trust. Am I right, or would I be better off using...

Best ways to save.(Reference)
August 1, 2004... Best ways to save Telephone Account Number/Website INSTANT ACCESS BRANCH ACCOUNTS Lambeth BS 0500 200020 Premier Save...

Personal pension annuity rates.(Reference)
August 1, 2004... 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)
August 1, 2004... Top-performing unit-linked pensions Five years to 30 June 2004. Results of 100 [pounds sterling] invested on an offer-to-bid basis with gross income reinvested. Name Value Rank ...