Financial Times Mandate articles from February 2004

Financial Times Mandate archives from February 2004

News: Idaho first US Eafe client to jump besieged Schroder ship.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Schroder Investment Management is set to lose at least three large clients when the two managers of its $3bn (e2.4bn) Europe, Australia and Far East (Eafe) portfolio leave at the end of March. The $7.5bn Idaho Public Employee's Retirement...

News: Hackney replaces CSAM.(Credit Suisse Asset Management)(London Borough of Hackney)
February 9, 2004... Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) has been dropped as property manager at a multi-million pound UK pension fund in favour of Threadneedle Asset Management. The GBP500m (e732m) London Borough of Hackney pension fund appointed...

News: Warwickshire seeks specialists to run e967m in equities and bonds.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The GBP660m (e967m) Warwickshire County Council pension fund is putting four mandates out to tender in a complete overhaul of its investment management arrangements. The UK scheme is seeking managers for a GBP150m passive investment...

News: Spain up in arms over fund regulation.(Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Spain's funds industry has closed ranks following action by the country's market regulator, the Comision Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), which suspended trading of six mutual funds and nine investment companies run by Commerzbank's...

Editorial: Retaining staff is key to retaining business.(Brief Article)(Editorial)
February 9, 2004... The importance of personnel to retaining institutional business was highlighted this week after Schroders faced the loss of several lucrative mandates on the back of departing portfolio managers. The $75bn Idaho Public Employees Retirement...

News: In brief - New Jersey Council deems SIS 'best match'.(New Jersey Investment Council)(Strategic Investment Solutions)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Strategic Investment Solutions (SIS) has picked up a three-year investment consulting brief with the New Jersey Investment Council. The investment consultant beat off competition from eight other applicants and finally won the mandate after...

News: In brief - ABN Amro wins oe1.3bn Avon custody contract.(ABN Amro Mellon Global Securities Services)(Avon Pension Fund)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Avon Pension Fund has appointed ABN Amro Mellon Global Securities Services as global custodian to its GBP1.3bn of segregated assets, following a decision to drop HSBC Global Investor Services from the mandate. Bath & North East Somerset...

News: In brief - China hostile market for foreign managers.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The Chinese fund management industry has doubled in size over the past two years with assets under management reaching $20bn (e16bn). But foreign fund managers wanting to enter the Chinese market can expect a tough time, according to KPMG....

News: In brief - Eurex delays US launch.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Eurex, the Swiss-German derivatives exchange, has had to push back its launch date in the US by a week to February 8, subject to approval by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The exchange had hoped to go live on February 1, but they...

News: In brief - Fidelity fund promises high alpha returns.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Fidelity has launched a global equity fund for institutional investors aiming to generate high alpha returns from a pure stockpicking approach. The fund, the Fidelity Institutional Focus fund, will hold between 100-150 global stocks...

News: UBS and State Street bag oe230m apiece.(UBS Global Asset Management)(State Street Global Advisors )(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The GBP1.3bn (e1.9bn) Devon County Council pension fund has awarded GBP460m in briefs to two external managers. UBS Global Asset Management has been appointed to manage a GBP230m UK equity index-tracking portfolio, while State Street Global...

News: Asia optimism gives way to bubble worries.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Asia excluding Japan is tipped as the year's top-performing market, but European fund houses are concerned that overvaluation could lead to a stock market bubble. Some 42 per cent of European fund managers think the region will outperform...

News: Pooled balanced funds make up for lost time.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Pooled balanced funds have recorded their first positive calendar year performance since 1999 with an average return of 18.1 per cent, according to a Russell/Mellon Caps survey. The strong performance in 2003 was driven by double-digit...

News: JPMorgan adds e20bn in Denmark.(JPMorgan Investor Services)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... JPMorgan Investor Services (JPMIS) has snapped up a $25bn (e20.1bn) custody brief from Denmark's largest supplier of company pension plans. The PFA chose JPMIS as custodian of its $25bn worth of Danish and global assets because it offered...

Comment and Analysis: Solvency fears make euro bonds hot topic.
February 9, 2004... Demand for ultra long euro bonds picked up last year, but whether this burgeoning market will grow or stagnate in 2004 remains to be seen. Unlike the sterling and dollar markets, a striking feature of the structure of the euro bond market...

News: Russell clocks up two Danish wins.(Pensionskassernes Administration A/S)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Multi-management house Russell has scooped a $140m (e112m) brief from the Pensionskassernes Administration A/S (PKA) in Denmark as it continues to push its business in continental Europe. Russell said it had netted another multi-manager...

News: Europe's wrath over broker failings.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Three-quarters of leading investment managers in Europe have penalised brokers for poor operational performance, according to a survey by the consultancy Z/Yen. Penalties have included suspension of trading, a reduction in business and...

News: ABP commits e79.5m to enhanced equity strategy.(ABP Investments)(Advanced Investment Partners)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The E150bn Dutch civil service pension fund ABP has awarded a E79.5m mandate in enhanced US equities to State Street Global Alliance member, Advanced Investment Partners (AIP). ABP, one of the world's largest pension funds, has invested...

News: The Real Return unites with Veritas.(Veritas Asset Management)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The Real Return has announced a merger with Veritas Asset Management, the UK and Swiss-based investment group. The Real Return was set up 10 months ago by Stewart Newton, the founder and executive of Newton Investment Management and Charles...

News: In brief - Detect default risk early with new Barra Credit.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... California-based Barra has launched a new product that claims to allow analysts and managers to identify potential default risk sooner and more accurately. Barra, a producer of risk management technology for investment professionals, said...

News: In brief - HSBC Bank re-appointed.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Royal County of Berkshire's Pension Fund has re-appointed HSBC Bank's Global Investor Services to act as custodian of approximately GBP800m (e1.1bn) of assets. Jack Johnson, pension fund manager for the Royal County of Berkshire, said: "We...

News: Dutch metalworkers tap into Isis SRI expertise.(Isis Asset Management)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Bedrijfstakpensioenfonds Metalektro (PME), the E14bn pension scheme for Dutch metalworkers, has appointed Isis Asset Management to manage a share voting programme and a socially responsible investment (SRI) overlay on its worldwide equity...

News: SEI seizes Yorkshire copper mandate.(SEI Investments, Yorkshire Copper Tube Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Multi-manager SEI has won GBP32m (e47m) after a UK pension fund decided to outsource the investment management of its pension fund. Yorkshire Copper Tube (YCT) appointed SEI, which runs some GBP900m, on the strength of its innovative...

News: Managers fear avalanche of hedge fund investors.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Hedge fund managers are in danger of killing the goose that laid the golden egg. Positive returns have led to an explosion in the number of new hedge funds which threatens to undermine future performance. Revealing there are now at least...

News: San Bernardino into emerging debt.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The California-based San Bernardino County Employees' Retirement Association (SBCERA) has awarded Ashmore Investment Management a mandate to invest $75m (e60) through its Emerging Markets Debt Fund. The fund invests mainly in...

How The Deal Was Won: Soft sell strategy hard to resist.
February 9, 2004... State Street did not exactly have to employ hard-sell tactics to win an E800m global custody brief from the UK's DS Smith Group Pension Scheme. DS Smith already had separate custody arrangements in place with JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche...

News: 'Inflexibility' costs JPMorgan Chase Aventis custody.(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has pipped JPMorgan Chase to win a custody mandate for the e2.3bn pension assets of Aventis, the Franco-German pharmaceuticals group. Dr Petra Zamagna, head of benefits finance and asset management for...

News: Job losses as Abbey outsources active funds.(Abbey National Asset Managers Ltd.)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Abbey National Asset Management (Anam) is to outsource most of its GBP29bn (e43bn) active funds under management, at the cost of around 60 jobs at its Scotland-based headquarters. Boston-based State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has been...

News: ING/BNY sign e34bn deal and plan German alliance.(Bank of New York)(ING BNF- Bank)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... The Bank of New York (BNY) has won a e34bn global custody brief from ING BNF- Bank, and handed its German sub-custody business to the Frankfurt-based bank. The win follows the commercial alliance forged between the two houses last May....

News: DeAM nets oe80m Bedfordshire bonds.(Deutsche Asset Management Inc.)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Bedfordshire County Council has awarded Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) a GBP80m (e117m) fixed interest mandate as part of the GBP700m fund's 19 per cent allocation to bonds. The mandate is split 50 per cent benchmarked against the FTSE...

News: Instinet opens independent research arm.(Instinet Europe)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Instinet Europe has launched an independent research arm in response to recent evidence of conflicts of interest in traditional research. The Independent Research Consultancy (IRC) will provide institutional investors and hedge funds with...

News: In brief - Wyatt branches out with launch of German insurance consultancy.(Watson Wyatt Worldwide)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Watson Wyatt is continuing its expansion into Germany by setting up an insurance consulting team in Munich. The new team will provide a full range of Watson Wyatt's consulting services to German banks, fund managers, captive insurers,...

News: In brief - JPMIS sees off rivals to secure Lincolnshire pension fund brief.(JPMorgan Investor Services)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Lincolnshire County Council has selected JPMorgan Investor Services (JPMIS) as global custodian to its pension scheme, following a thorough tender process. The council received approximately 10 tenders, of which two were shortlisted -...

News Analysis: US pension shortfalls - US reeling from pensions deficits.(Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974)(Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982)
February 9, 2004... US employers are looking at a wide range of financial strategies to make up shortfalls in pensions assets and reduce their retirement plans costs. Some 96 cent of employers have changed one or more of their retirement programmes within the...

People News: Hartl switches from UBS to Schroders.(Stefan Hartl has been hired as sales director of Schroder Investment Management )(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Stefan Hartl has been hired as sales director of Schroder Investment Management in Germany. Mr Hartl will be responsible for developing relationships with insurance companies, pension funds and occupational saving schemes. He joins...

People News: Pimco picks Bentley for UK bond post.(Pacific Investment Management Co. appoints)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... Pimco has appointed Peter Bentley as vice-president and UK corporate bond portfolio manager. Mr Bentley, who joins from Morley Fund Management, will be responsible for the management and trading of corporate bonds across UK and European...

People News: GAM adds Taylor to list of new blood.(Sean Taylor as investment director)(Brief Article)
February 9, 2004... GAM has hired Sean Taylor as investment director. Mr Taylor, the third fund manager recruited by GAM in five months, will manage international long-only as well as global long/short mandates. He joins GAM from SG Asset Management...