What Investment articles from June 2003

What Investment archives from June 2003

Breaking through 4000.(Comment)
June 1, 2003... 'It was short, it was sharp and, if you'd flicked over the TV channel to catch the end of Countdown, you might even have missed it. But May was the month when the FTSE 100 finally broke through the all-important 4000 barrier. Alright, so...

Free books.(Win)
June 1, 2003... We have five copies of the recently released Lloyds TSB Tax Guide 2003/04 to give away to readers. Completely revised and updated with changes announced in the 2003 Budget, the book includes a step-by-step guide to completing self-assessment...

Sorting out with-profits.(Win)
June 1, 2003... IFA Rickman Tooze has produced With-Profits--An Impending Crisis?, a report detailing the problems in this sector. The report offers a guide to the various companies that have offered with-profits bonds as well as details of the guarantees that...

Reduced dealing fees.(Win)
June 1, 2003... Online stockbroker FasTrade has relaunched its online share-dealing service with a reduced dealing fee of 9.99 [pounds sterling] for trades up to 1,500 [pounds sterling]. All trades over 1,500 [pounds sterling] will continue to attract a fee of...

Equity ISAs still worthwhile.(News Round-up)
June 1, 2003... Chancellor Gordon Brown has disappointed investors, but basic-rate taxpayers shouldn't give up on equity ISAs, according to Jason Hollands, director head of communications and strategy at ISIS Asset Management. ISIS believes Brown missed a...

Portfolio management launch.(News Round-up)
June 1, 2003... IFA Hargreaves Lansdown has launched the Portfolio Management Service for investors looking to delegate the management of their investment portfolios. A selection of core investment portfolios form the building blocks of the service. Each...

Not such a bonus.(News Round-up)
June 1, 2003... Scottish Life has announced revisions to its terminal bonus rates for the second time in six months. The reduction continues the process of smoothing down payouts to reflect the significant fall in stock markets worldwide over the past three...

Property through pensions.(Round-up)
June 1, 2003... A service allowing investors access to commercial property investment as part of their pension fund has been launched by financial adviser Central Financial Planning. The service is aimed at business owners seeking to buy their own business...

Understand your options.(News)
June 1, 2003... The Annuity Bureau is offering a factsheet to help retirees understand their options in the difficult market climate. The guide spells out the many annuity types and key strategic considerations to be taken into account by retirees at such a...

Shareholder perks.(News)
June 1, 2003... Barclays Stockbrokers has produced a guidebook highlighting the shareholder benefits available from 129 UK-listed companies. The guide lists both the companies that provide 'perks' to all shareholders (including those that hold shares through a...

Cover it.(News)
June 1, 2003... TradingLab has released its fourth batch of covered warrants including single stock underlyings such as Abbey National, BP, HSBC and Marks & Spencer--all possessing long-term expiry dates towards the end of 2003. Twenty covered warrants on the...

Taking issue.(News)
June 1, 2003... Is it time to bring down the curtain on with-profits endowments? I am drawn to the conclusion that millions of investors, particularly those aiming to pay off mortgages, would be better off getting shot of their endowments. I'll be the...

Top ten funds.(News)
June 1, 2003... top ten funds Unit Trusts One year 1 Deutsche GSpec Pass Euro Gov Bond B 125.39 2 Five Arrows GI Euro Bond A GBP Acc 118.66 3 T'needle Euro Bond C1 Inc 117.54 4 T'needle Euro Money Secs C1 ...

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)
June 1, 2003... The Homeowners' Friendly Society has launched the 'Sandler-friendly' Better Start Children's Savings Plan, a savings plan with tax benefits allowing parents, grandparents and other family members to save cost-effectively on behalf of a child....

Premier Fund Managers.(Product of the month)
June 1, 2003... Premier Fund Managers has launched Premier Limited Editions No 8, a six-year FTSE 100-based growth plan. The product offers the potential of 8 per cent per annum growth, even if there is no growth in the FTSE 100. Although designed as a...

Bradford & Bingley.(Also launching this month ...)
June 1, 2003... Bradford & Bingley has launched the 3-Year Premier Term Bond offering 4.15 per cent gross AER. It offers 4.15 per cent gross AER in years one and two, and a base-rate tracking rate in year three. The minimum investment is 2,000 [pounds...

Legal & General.(Also launching this month ...)
June 1, 2003... Legal & General is offering the Protected Index Plan 3, an index-linked investment providing growth in the FTSE 100 up to a maximum of 55 per cent over five and a half years. The minimum investment is 1,000 [pounds sterling] and the closing...

Britannia Building Society.(Also launching this month ...)
June 1, 2003... Britannia Building Society has launched a five-year Guaranteed Capital Equity Bond, paying a return of 35 per cent gross should the FTSE 100 rise or remain the same after five years. The minimum investment is 500 [pounds sterling] and the offer...

Friends Provident.(Also launching this month ...)
June 1, 2003... Friends Provident is offering investors into its Investment Portfolio Bond up to 0.75 per cent extra allocation on their initial investment. The IPB offers investment into a choice of 21 funds including low-risk funds and equity funds. Call...

Managers on the move: should you stay or should you go? What Investment looks into the reasons behind recent fund manager moves.(Fund managers)
June 1, 2003... The original focus of this column was to track fund managers as they moved between fund management houses--building up a track record on one particular fund, being 'headhunted' by a rival firm and moving on to another. Those days are a distant...

Dream or reality? Simon Hildrey looks at the options available for those seeking early retirement.(Focus: early retirement)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2003... If a modern-day Aladdin found a lamp housing a genie, there is a good chance one of his wishes would be for early retirement. For most of us, early retirement is just wishful thinking unless we save regularly and have a plan of action for how...

Follow me up, follow me down: they rocketed to prominence in the 1990s, but are index trackers worth buying in today's volatile markets?(Index tracking)
June 1, 2003... Those magnificent men in their/lying machines, they go up tiddly up up, they go down tiddly down down--much like an index tracker when you drink about it... With file FTSE 100 barely recovered from its recent seven-year lows and other...

A lighter shade of green? Eco-friend or eco-foe? Harvey Jones reviews the past performance and future potential of socially responsible investments.(Ethical investing)
June 1, 2003... A few years ago ethical investment funds looked set to break into the mainstream. More than 500,000 people invested around 4 billion [pounds sterling] in funds that take a socially responsible approach to investing, and the numbers were rising....

2003 budget--good, bad or ugly? David Harris reviews this year's Budget and its implications for investors.(Q & A)
June 1, 2003... Since 1997 Gordon Brown has impressed many doubters in the UK with both his confidence and his record of achievement. With his latest Budget variously described as imprudent, vacuous, over-optimistic and simply "hoping for the best", it is not...

What Investment Awards 2003: we preview the reader nominations and fund management short list for the What Investment Awards 2003.(Awards preview)
June 1, 2003... Yes, it's getting close to that time of year again. Time to pop the champagne corks, dust off the trophies and fine-tune those acceptance speeches. Now in their 19th year, the What Investment Awards recognise and reward the fund management...

Survival of the fittest: Keiron Root reviews the prospects for the online sharedealing sector.(Technology)
June 1, 2003... 'Consolidation, consolidation and consolidation' nearly sums lip the current state of the online sharedealing market. Times have been tough over the past three years, although the fundamental attractions of online trading still apply. "We...

United Kingdom: signs of recovery: bad news is already reflected in share prices whilst investors are slowly regaining confidence.(World Markets)
June 1, 2003... It may seem a long time ago now, but the Chancellor finally got around to unveiling his Budget at the beginning of April, although the proposals it contained did little to excite the UK stock market. "There were few immediate implications from...

United States: economic stagnation: fund managers see few reasons to rush back into US equities.(World Markets)
June 1, 2003... "My overall macro feeling on the US is one of economic stagnation, with no signs that a genuine or sustainable recovery is at hand," says Jon Greenhill, director of North American equities at ISIS Asset Management. "On a company level, it seems...

Europe: fundamentally weak: political uncertainty and structural weakness across the region leave investors cold.(World Markets)
June 1, 2003... "Given the current lack of visibility and political uncertainty, companies are finding it difficult to speak with conviction about the near-term future," says Fraser Chalmers, head of European equities at Standard Life Investments. "We remain...

Far East: consumption triumph: corporate and domestic consumption continues to rise against a sensitive economic backdrop.(World Markets)
June 1, 2003... "We continue to be optimistic about companies in Asia but have scaled back our economic expectations," says Hugh Young, managing director of Aberdeen Asia. "A growing personal consumption story is underway in the region, alongside a transformed...

Japan: a bottom-up story: Japan's deflationary spiral continues, unemployment is rising and consumers are reluctant to spend.(World Markets)
June 1, 2003... "Japanese equities might well have plunged to 20-year lows, but the news is not all bad," says Richard Heelis, head of Japanese equities at Pictet Asset Management. "There is nothing like a weak market to stimulate a policy response. What's...

Emerging markets: top dog: emerging markets continue to outperform the developed markets whilst investment risk declines.(World Markets)
June 1, 2003... "Emerging markets have actually outperformed over the past couple of years, when global stock markets have been on their most painful ride since the 1970s," says Philip Ehrmann, head of Gartmore's Pacific & Emerging Markets team. "Part of the...

Market insider: Hong Kong: continuing our series providing a fundamental analysis of a region from an economic and political perspective. This month, Michael Wilson considers the outlook for Hong Kong.(World Markets)
June 1, 2003... A year ago you'd have had a hard time convincing Hong Kong that its troubles were anything more than a passing cloud. Sure, they'd say, the business world was having its differences with the communist leadership in Beijing, and yes, the falling...

Market view.(UK Shares)
June 1, 2003... Joy of joys--April was the UK stock market's best month for five years. It is hard to remember when we last heard stories of bears being taken to the cleaners, but it is happening again. Between 2 April and 2 May the FTSE 100 index jumped by...

UK stock performance.(UK Shares)
June 1, 2003... UK STOCK PERFORMANCE Company Weight in 1 Month Rank Name Index Return TOP 20 FTSE All-Share 1 Bulmer (HP) Hdg 0.01% 144.19% 2...

FTSE 100 index.(UK Shares)
June 1, 2003... FTSE 100 INDEX Stock 1 month Rank 1 year Rank 3i Group Inv Trust 111.64 41 67.96 74 Abbey National 135.11 3 42.50 94 Alliance &...

Index constituent rankings FTSE 100.(UK Shares)
June 1, 2003... INDEX CONSTITUENT RANKINGS FTSE 100 Dividend Dividend Rank Stock Price Yield (%) Cover 1 BP 396.5 ...

Media sector view.(UK Shares)
June 1, 2003... Media stocks enjoyed a good April--the FF Media & Entertainment sector rose by 6.81 per cent on the month. But that barely compensates for the preceding, miserable three years. Many of its leading--FFSE 100--constituents me down by 80 per cent...

Media share view.(UK Shares)
June 1, 2003... Pearson, the owner of the FT also has a major presence in the US education publishing market. You might have thought this a relatively sate haven. But surprisingly, even Pearson was suckered into the dot.com hype, wasting several hundred...

European sector review: Hilary Cook, director of investment strategy at Barclays Private Clients, examines the prospects for the European transport sector.(Stock Market Review)
June 1, 2003... With several companies issuing profit warnings in recent months, the first part of 2003 has done nothing to repair an already grim situation facing the global airline industry. Airlines were especially hard-hit by 11 September and the...

European stock performance.(Stock Market Review)
June 1, 2003... EUROPEAN STOCK PERFORMANCE Rank Company Weight in 1 Month Name Index Return Top 20 FTSE World Europe 1 Corus Group ...

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 Trust Monitor)
June 1, 2003... CAUTIOUS OPTION Russell Hall of Sedgwick Independent Financial Consultants suggests the Jupiter Corporate Bond fund for investors who want a reasonable return without taking too much risk. The fired is ranked 12th out of 61 in the UK...

Performance tables.(Unit Trusts OEICs)
June 1, 2003... The figures show the value of 100 [pounds sterling] over six months, one, three, five and ten years to 30 April 2003, on an offer-to-bid basis with net income reinvested. Funds are listed by sector so that you can compare them against trusts...

Pottering around the bond beds: Keiron Root talks to Theo Zemek about the unique discipline of running a fixed-interest fund.(Fund Manager Profile)
June 1, 2003... For a fund management group that only started offering retail investment products in July 2001, the impact of New Star Asset Management on the investment world so far has been nothing short of explosive. The company's success is due in no...

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)
June 1, 2003... CAUTIOUS OPTION Nick Greenwood, head of investment trusts at iimia, suggests zero dividend preference shares issued by JZ Equity Partners for the cautions investor. "JZ Equity zeros might prove to be a good investment under a cautious...

Performance tables.(Investment Trusts)
June 1, 2003... What the tables show The figures show the value of 100 [pounds sterling] invested over six months, one, three, five and ten years to 30 April 2003, on a mid-market basis with net income reinvested. Funds are listed by sector so that you...

PEP or ISA?(Money clinic: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
June 1, 2003... I have 530 Halifax shares in a Fidelity PEE Should I sell them and invest in a stocks & shares ISA or leave them exactly where they are? J Nightingale Norwich Charles Ansdell at Inter-Alliance replies: PEPs were introduced in...

Tax credit dilemma.(Money clinic: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
June 1, 2003... Chancellor Gordon Brown failed to change his plans to abolish the 10 per cent tax credit on UK dividends within PEPs and ISAs. Surely this means that there is little point investing in equity ISAs? Can you tell me any reasons why I should...

Money where your mouth is.(Money clinic: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
June 1, 2003... I am interested in putting some money back into the stock markets through a collective investment vehicle and have seen a number of reports from fund management groups whose managers invest into the funds they are running. I like file idea of...

Credit or debit?(Money clinic: a panel of independent experts answer readers' financial planning and investment queries)
June 1, 2003... Needing to change my bank recently, I have been in touch with various banking institutions. Most of them dangled in front of my nose their own debit and/or credit cards. But just what's the difference between a credit card and a debit card? I...

Best ways to save.(Reference)
June 1, 2003... NO-NOTICE ACCOUNTS Company Account Gross Interest Name Rate Freq. Balance of 500 [pounds sterling] Northern Rock Tracker...

Personal pension annuity rates.(Reference)
June 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)
June 1, 2003... Top-performing unit-linked pensions Five years to 30 April 2003. Results of 100 [pounds sterling] invested on an offer-to-bid basis with gross income reinvested. Name Value Rank ...