Financial Times Mandate articles from February 2005

Financial Times Mandate archives from February 2005

From the Editor: Spreading the eggs still best recipe.(stock market)(Editorial)
February 1, 2005... If you've been investing in value stocks since the technology bubble burst in early 2000, you would be forgiven for wearing the occasional self- satisfied smile. For according to the Global Investment Returns Yearbook 2005, published by London...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - China slowdown fears fail to dull supporter adulation.(securities industry)
February 1, 2005... Despite a widely anticipated slowdown in the Chinese economy, Asian equity experts remain bullish on the region, launching new funds and looking forward to double-digit returns. HSBC's head of Asian equities ex-Japan, Kerry Series, said he...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Obsession with style drift 'unduly restricting managers'.(investment firms)
February 1, 2005... The investment community is pigeonholing asset managers too narrowly in terms of their investment style, industry experts have warned. Robert Barr, director at multi-manager and consulting firm Russell, said: "We're not as concerned about...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Pension Schemes.(Watson Wyatt, reports)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... UK pension funds are taking too much risk and investing in the wrong types of instruments, according to Watson Wyatt. The problem is said to stem from schemes' approach to risk analysis. The investment consulting firm has claimed in a...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Loyal UK balanced funds do best.
February 1, 2005... UK balanced pooled products have performed well for the second consecutive year after over-weighting overseas equities. British balanced funds achieved an average return of 10.2 per cent last year, according to Russell/Mellon. This followed a...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Declining fortunes fail to dampen hedge fund fever.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Investors are continuing to pour new money into hedge funds and managers are launching new products in the sector despite a fall in average returns. The hedge fund sector increased in assets by $148bn (e113bn) in 2004, according to Hedge...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Asset liability matching flavour of the month.(Standard Life Investments Ltd. and Merrill Lynch and Company Inc. introduce bond funds)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Two products aimed at asset-liability matching have been launched this month, signalling the growing popularity of the investment approach. Standard Life Investments is rolling out a suite of "liability managed" credit funds, while Merrill...

Comment: The Bender Agenda - New gunslinger sets scene for three-way shoot- out in Paris.
February 1, 2005... French asset management firms fighting for a share of their own domestic market, the near-European abroad and increasingly encroaching into the US and Asia, have set the scene for an engrossing battle of the giants. The poetry of the...

Asset Allocation: The Chief - Intech doing the math with market volatility.(Janus Capital Group Inc.)
February 1, 2005... Janus Capital Group, the Denver-based growth house, is still struggling to recover from a dot.com crash which caused assets under management (AUM) to plummet from $325bn (e248) to less than $140bn in the space of five years. To make...

Asset Allocation: FTM Interview - Gilles Glicenstein - BNP's highly civil servant.(BNP Paribas Asset Management)(Interview)
February 1, 2005... Exasperation with the current state of French and Italian institutional markets is so strong that even global consultants who moved in with such verve during the last 10 years are having second thoughts, says Gilles Glicenstein, chief executive...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - Europe - Sustainable growth increasingly scarce.(security industry)
February 1, 2005... Unfortunately, the solid returns posted by European equities in the fourth quarter mask a tough outlook for economic growth. The prospects for exporters are being bedevilled by the persistently high oil price, which despite recent falls is...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - North America - Markets await Bush reform outcomes.(securities industry)(George W. Bush)
February 1, 2005... In 2004, the US equity markets showed surprising resiliency around the triumvirate of rising interest rates, volatile oil prices, and the weak dollar. While down for much of the year, a rally after the US presidential election in November...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - South America - Strong growth will outpace peers.(stock market)
February 1, 2005... The interest-rate tightening cycle in the US is well underway. Global leading indicators have turned over. Emerging market debt is trading at near record- low spreads to US Treasuries. Commodity prices are at cyclical highs. The Latin American...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - Asia Pacific - China promises monetary prudence.
February 1, 2005... Last year was a year of consolidation for investors in China. H shares declined 5.6 per cent and Redchips gained 9 per cent. But, significantly, it was in the domestic markets where Chinese equities have struggled again. The Shanghai and...

Asset Allocation: Portfolio Flows - Foreign shopping spree goes on.(foreign exchange market)
February 1, 2005... Over the past two years one of the most important forces within the currency markets has been the persistent flow of portfolio capital into Asia. There can be little doubt that the driving force behind these flows has been a belief that the...

Asset Allocation: Alternative Investments - Hedge Funds - Education, education, education.
February 1, 2005... Over 2300 years ago Aristotle said "education is the best provision for the journey to old age", making him, perhaps, the earliest person to identify the responsibility of pension funds to become "informed investors". Since then several...

Asset Allocation: The Panel - Lasers' high risk quest for top returns.(Louisiana. State Employees' Retirement System)(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System demands that its investment strategy delivers a fairly formidable return of at least 4 per cent, every year, without fail. "Total fund return for Lasers shall consistently rank in the top half of...

Asset Allocation: The Panel - Belgium's Amonis considers hedge funds.(investments)
February 1, 2005... Amonis, the E695.5m pension fund for Belgian doctors, dentists and pharmacists, is planning a first-time investment in hedge funds amounting to 5 per cent of total assets. Finance director Tom Mergaerts says the Brussels-based scheme is...

Asset Allocation: Mandate Analysis - FRR hands out big equity briefs.(Fonds de Reserve pour les Retraites)
February 1, 2005... Despite the faltering stockmarket recovery, pressure to plug funding shortfalls and the introduction of new accounting regulations, public pension schemes in Europe awarded over twice as many equity mandates as fixed income mandates during the...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Emerging from the shadow.
February 1, 2005... Asian equity markets have outperformed Anglo-Saxon and western European markets over the past two years and 2005 is predicted to be no different. According to a new report by Greenwich Associates, one third of portfolio managers at Asian...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Aberdeen's common sense.(Aberdeen Far East Emerging Economies Unit Trust, survey)
February 1, 2005... Flagship product Aberdeen Far East Emerging Economies Unit Trust Investment and risk management process Aberdeen seeks to identify promising stocks for investment using fundamental research and to add value from active management....

Strategy Selection: The Consulting Room - Dampening interest rate risk.(pension funds)
February 1, 2005... Pension fund investment has become increasingly sophisticated, from balanced to specialist, constrained to unconstrained, investment grade to speculative, publicly quoted to private equity. The investor's tool kit provided by fund managers is...

Strategy Selection: Open for tender - Danish ATP to pursue global real estate strategy.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... The Danish pension fund ATP is poised to increase its foreign property investments in a move that could see it invest for the first time in real estate outside Europe. The E40bn fund is looking for an investment consultant able to "order,...

Strategy Selection: Dream team - In Barclays they trust.(Barclays Global Investors)
February 1, 2005... If anyone knows how to win business from institutional investors it's the world's largest index manager Barclays Global Investors. Despite the departure of a star salesman a year ago, the firm is still managing to pull in large contracts, such...

Strategy Selection: Sub-advisory Uncovered - Parceling out non-core skills.(outsourcing)
February 1, 2005... Many financial organisations are now looking at all aspects of their value proposition from a profitability, competitive and scalability perspective. If we look at those organisations whose proposition revolves around retail distribution and...

Special Report: Enhanced Cash Funds - Handy product in need of demystification.
February 1, 2005... Enhanced cash funds are misunderstood in Europe and the UK, according to cash management gurus. The problem is creating a slew of missed opportunities on one hand and a heap of accidents waiting to happen on the other. So it is worthwhile...

Special Report: Enhanced Cash Funds - Diversifying for peace of mind.
February 1, 2005... Pension funds have become increasingly aware of the importance of cash management since the late 1990s. In 1995, money market funds in Dublin, Luxembourg and the Channel Islands had less than $1bn (E770m) in assets under management but this had...

Special Report: Enhanced Cash Funds - A market poised to explode.
February 1, 2005... Cash management has come a long way in under a decade. In 1997, the European money market funds industry was barely a twinkle in investment managers' eyes; now, for an institution to put its cash in call or seven-day notice bank accounts shows...

Performance Overview: Keeping an eye on fundamentals.(UK Equity Alpha Fund)
February 1, 2005... Axa Rosenberg's UK Equity Alpha Fund was not always a top performer but it has pulled back from negative returns three years ago to beat the index and take first place in the Standard & Poor's sector rankings. Credit for this come-back goes to...

Support Services: Security Services News - Giant custodians face threat.(Northern Trust and Insight Investment Management Ltd. contract)
February 1, 2005... Competition within the securities services market is set to intensify, with existing operators going after new types of client and brand new non- financial players entering the fray. Northern Trust has won an outsourcing contract from...

Support Services: Security Services News - European bourses in slanging match.(Brief Article)
February 1, 2005... Euroclear has warned that the future of Europe's capital market hangs in the balance. The Brussels-based clearing and banking group has stepped up its war of words with Deutsche Boerse during the past month, leading to both organisations taking...

Support Services: Interview - A bigger slice of the European custody pie.(interview, Philippe Collas of Societe Generale)(Interview)
February 1, 2005... French bank Societe Generale, which has enjoyed recent successes in distribution of alternative asset management products and gathering assets for its growing private banking franchise, has started a new push into Europe's custody, fund...

Round Table: Administration Outsourcing - Identifying the winners and losers.(Panel Discussion)
February 1, 2005... Round Table Attendees - Richard Hale, Head of Sales, HSBC Institutional Fund Services, Europe - Margaret Harwood-Jones, Head of Global Sales & Relationship Management - Institutional Investors, BNP Paribas Securities Services -...

Support Services: Feature - Suitors joust for the hand of London Stock Exchange.
February 1, 2005... It is Valentine's Day this month and Deutsche Boerse is making eyes at the London Stock Exchange once again. If the German exchange successfully woos its long time British love or even takes it by force through a hostile takeover, the...