What Investment articles from August 2005

What Investment archives from August 2005

Free bond guide.(August News)
August 1, 2005... A guide to investment bonds has been published by IFA and broker Hargreaves Lansdown, covering what investment bonds are, how they work, the charges involved and which type of investor these bonds are appropriate for, as well as the tax regime...

Chelsea substitution in equity income.(August News)
August 1, 2005... Following its regular review of funds and managers, Chelsea Financial Services has announced two changes to its Equity Income panel. The IFA has added the 750 million [pounds sterling] Schroder Equity Income and 45 million [pounds sterling]...

Elderly "feel vulnerable" when using cash machines.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2005... Britain's pensioners are deserting high-street cash machines because of increased fears of muggings, a new survey by Yorkshire Building Society has revealed. Over 60 per cent said they felt vulnerable while making a withdrawal from a public...

Investors should seek advice.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2005... Nearly 40 per cent of private investors do not know where to invest, but are still failing to seek expert advice, according to research issued by UK fund management house New Star Asset Management. The research, conducted in association...

Travel insurance for the over-fifties.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2005... To cater for the increasing number of the over-fifties in the UK who frequently travel abroad, Saga has launched a new annual travel insurance policy. In the last 12 months, 9.87 million over-50s have taken more than one holiday, accounting for...

Savings for sixty-somethings.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2005... Two high-interest savings products exclusively for the over-60s have been launched by Coventry Building Society. The new Sixty-Plus Saver offers 5.50 per cent variable (AER/gross pa) return, and the rate is guaranteed at least to equal the...

Manager moves: a round-up of the comings and goings in the fund management world.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2005... Internal developments at Gartmore mean that Jeff Meyer has been appointed as chief executive officer, Gartmore Europe, and Les Aitkenhead as chief operating officer, Gartmore Europe. Meyer is currently global chief financial officer of the...

Recent moves.(News Round-up)
August 1, 2005... Recent moves These are the latest fund manager moves from August 2004. To keep track of your fund manager, and for further commentary on manager moves, visit www.bestinvest.co.uk Date left Fund manager Moved from... ...

Top ten funds.(New offers)
August 1, 2005... UNIT TRUSTS One Year 1 Schroder India 170.56 2 JI India Equity 166.09 3 First State Indian Subcont. I 164.38 4 Baring Latin America USD 160.36 5 MLIIF Latin American A2...

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.(August news)
August 1, 2005... * The Advance Funds Wills & Co Stockbrokers, together with Keith Bayley Rogers and Walker Crips, are launching 'The Advance Funds', a new scheme to invest in companies that qualify for tax relief under the Enterprise Investment Scheme. The...

Leeds & Holbeck.(Product of the month)
August 1, 2005... Leeds & Holbeck--which changes its name to Leeds Building Society on 12 September--has launched a three-year tracker ISA paying 5.50 per cent. The society has also launched a three-year tracker ISA/TOISA to complement its existing one- and...

Also launching this month ...(August news)
August 1, 2005... Wesleyan Savings Bank (WSB), a subsidiary of Wesleyan Assurance Society, has launched an internet-only fixed-rate term deposit account. The E-WSB Fixed Rate Deposit Account offers investors 5.10 per cent AER fixed over three years or 5.05 per...

Back to the future? Keiron Root ponders the similarities between modern markets and those of the 19th century.(Lesson from history)
August 1, 2005... This month I am taking the title of this column to heart and delving back some way into the past. It still doesn't quite match up to my own definition of what constitutes history--as a student specialising in late mediaeval and early modern...

Time to bet on blue? Garry White takes a look to see what are likely to be the main factors affecting the blue-chip market over the next 12 months--and which companies are most likely to take advantage of them.(Best of the blue chips)(Cover Story)
August 1, 2005... There are definitely mixed opinions about the market outlook over the next 12 months, but, on the whole, the signs are actually quite bullish. There are, of course, risks and potholes on the path ahead, and wise positioning is the order of the...

On the right track: exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are cheaper than index-tracking unit trusts and offer all the dealing flexibility of a normal share.(Technology)
August 1, 2005... ETFs are essentially index funds that are listed and traded on the Stock Exchange like individual shares. Often in fact referred to as tracker shares, they enable investors to mirror the performance of an index and can be bought or sold any...

The funds that time forgot: like in most aspects of life, fashion even plays a part in an investor's decision as to which fund to invest in. But are once-fashionable funds doing better and nobody's noticed? And are there any other hidden gems just waiting to be discovered?(Forgotten funds)
August 1, 2005... 'Don't follow the herd' is one of the oldest and most useful pieces of investment advice, whether for shares or funds. There have been plenty of examples of funds that became very fashionable, only for performance to suffer from having too many...

AGM anarchist.(MONEY CLINIC: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
August 1, 2005... Can yon give me some idea of how an individual investor might achieve the seemingly impossible--apply pressure to an underperforming fund, for instance Foreign & Colonial's flagship investment trust? Perhaps you can tell me where I might find...

Nicely ISA.(MONEY CLINIC: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
August 1, 2005... I have recently received a leaflet from the Nationwide Building Society, entitled Important Information about your Mini-cash ISA. It contains a flow diagram that would suggest that, as from 6 April 2005, it's possible to invest 3,000 [pounds...

A taxing question.(MONEY CLINIC: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
August 1, 2005... Back in 1990, before I was aware of PEPs and the like, I took out an open-ended 'Savings Plan' through a company called Merchant Investors, which the booklet describes as "a whole-of-life plan linked to units in the fund of your choice"--in my...

Nice problem to have.(MONEY CLINIC: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
August 1, 2005... I have never before had any need to think about the 40 per cent tax bracket (undervalued and underpaid as I have hitherto been) but, by some mistake of the management of the company I work for, I will have to think about it soon. I have...

Boring, but good for you?: With A-Day looming ever closer, we look at its impact on investment trust pensions, how it affects them and the prospects for the future of this market. Will more investment trust management companies launch pension schemes, or has the take-up of SIPPs sounded the death-knell for this particular market? Jo Tura takes a look.(Investment Trust Pensions)
August 1, 2005... Investment trust pensions are operated by a small handful of providers. In essence, the products consist of the investment trust--or trusts--offered by the provider, in a pension wrapper, and are a tax-efficient way to invest in investment...

Taxing returns: if you're an investor taking dividends as income, or wondering how taper relief might impact on a CGT disposal, how many of those colour-coded sections of your tax return do you need to fill in? Harvey Jones takes a look.(Tax returns)
August 1, 2005... The 30th of September is looming, and it's a date you should note carefully in your diary. If you submit your self-assessment tax return before then, the Inland Revenue will calculate your bill on your behalf. But miss that deadline and...

Global equities: coping with triumph and disaster: each month, What Investment speaks to fund managers focusing on four different asset classes and asks them to reveal the key issues currently driving their stock-selection decisions.(ASSET ALLOCATION)
August 1, 2005... The first week of July saw two events of contrasting significance for the UK equity market. On 6 July, the International Olympic Committee announced that the 2012 Olympic Games were coming to London. Less than 24 hours later, the capital's...

Bonds: investors prefer bonds.(ASSET ALLOCATION)
August 1, 2005... Investors are still favouring investment in bonds over equities, according to the latest UK Investor Confidence Survey conducted by JPMorgan Asset Management. Overall, the index dropped to a four-month low of 67 points in May, from 69 in April,...

Commodities: prices high, but mining stocks tumble.(ASSET ALLOCATION)
August 1, 2005... Looking at the current situation in the oil sector, Jim Goodey, of Collins Stewart Fund Management, observes that the oil price remains set to dominate financial markets. "Oil has made new Nymex highs recently, and I am sticking to my...

Property: potential upside in commerce.(ASSET ALLOCATION)
August 1, 2005... The most recent survey of conditions within the property market conducted by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), finds that while the residential property market is showing signs of cooling off, commercial property values are...

Market insider: Russia: continuing our series providing a fundamental analysis of a region from an economic and political perspective. This month, Michael Wilson considers the outlook for Russia.(World Markets)
August 1, 2005... This year, you'll have a hard time finding a stock market that's done much better than Moscow's. In the first six months of 2005, the main Moscow exchange put on a massive 18 per cent growth, both in sterling and in rouble terms. That's not so...

Market view: Tom Winnifrith considers the outlook for UK shares.(UK SHARES)
August 1, 2005... Sell in May and go away? Even by the end of May that advice was looking poor for 2005. By the end of June it was looking abject. During June, the FTSE 100 added another 3.7 per cent to end the month on a near three-year high of 5,013.2. The...

Beverages sector view.(UK SHARES)
August 1, 2005... In a craven attempt to attract the attention of your new editor, the sector in the spotlight is that closest to his heart. But despite the heroic personal efforts of Mr Fagan to boost the cashflow generated by the pub and brewery sector, it has...

Beverages share view.(UK SHARES)
August 1, 2005... Scottish & Newcastle was, for many years, a rather poorly run company with an unimpressive record of generating value for its shareholders. But over the past couple of years since the arrival of Tony Froggatt as CEO, that has all changed. The...

European sector review: Hilary Cook, director of investment strategy at Barclays Private Clients, examines the prospects for the European Telecoms sector.(STOCK MARKET REVIEW)
August 1, 2005... Five years have now passed since the bursting of the bubble in the Technology, Media and Telecoms (TMT) sector, yet private investors remember only too well how steeply TMT valuations fell in the subsequent months. This nervousness has kept...

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)
August 1, 2005... CAUTIOUS OPTION Gillian Cardy, Principal of IFA Professional Partnerships feels that Investec UK Value would be a suitable choice for cautious investors. Investec UK Value is ranked 30 out of 250 funds in the UK All Companies sector over...

Unit trust performance tables.(UNIT TRUSTS: OEICs)
August 1, 2005... 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 2005, on an offer-to-bid basis with net income reinvested. Funds are listed by sector so that you can...

The best of both worlds: Keiron Root looks at a fund that combines both growth and value investments within a single small-cap portfolio.(FUND MANAGER: PROFILE)
August 1, 2005... Funds investing in Europe tend to concentrate on established names in major global sectors, such as pharmaceuticals, oil or financials. But there is also a small group of more specialist funds that give investors access to a much more diverse...

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.(INVESTMENT TRUSTS: MONITOR)
August 1, 2005... CAUTIOUS OPTION Paul Harris, of stockbroker Goy Harris Cartwright, puts forward Perpetual Income and Growth Investment Trust as an option for the more cautious investor. This trust's shares are ranked 3rd out of 17 in the UK Growth &...

Investment trust performance tables.(INVESTMENT TRUSTS)
August 1, 2005... 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 2005, on a mid-market basis with net income reinvested. Funds are listed by sector so that you can compare...

Personal pension annuity rates.(REFERENCE)
August 1, 2005... 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...

Best ways to save.(REFERENCE)
August 1, 2005... Best ways to save Telephone Number/Website Account INSTANT-ACCESS BRANCH ACCOUNTS West Bromwich BS 0845 330 0622 Premier Bonus Tracker Manchester BS ...

Top-performing unit-linked pensions.(REFERENCE)
August 1, 2005... Top-performing unit-linked pensions Five years to 30 June 2005. Results of 100 [pounds sterling] invested on an offer-to-bid basis with gross income reinvested. Name Value Rank ...

Financial contacts: ISA directory.(Directory)
August 1, 2005... Financial Contacts ISA Directory NAME OF NAME & ADDRESS SCHEME Abbey National[R] Investments ISA Tel: 0800 30 20 30 Safety Plus Growth...