Financial Times Mandate articles from January 2005

Financial Times Mandate archives from January 2005

From The Editor: Patchy outlook for alpha generation.
January 1, 2005... "Fund managers are going to have to work hard for their supper." So warned Tony Broccardo, chief investment officer of F&C Asset Management recently. Forecasting that low equity market volatility would spell another year of unexceptional...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Unprotected pension funds hit by rising oil prices.
January 1, 2005... Instability in the Middle East is harming pension funds that lack sophisticated risk management strategies. Unprotected portfolios around the world are suffering as rising oil prices and ongoing uncertainty in the region are resulting in low or...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Europeans pin hopes on fixed income experts.
January 1, 2005... European investors are looking to hire fixed income specialists for complex mandates in the hope of improving returns without investing in equities, but impending regulatory restrictions could scupper their plans. As European institutions,...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Pioneer plans capacity push through multiple acquisitions.
January 1, 2005... Pioneer Investments is on the lookout for six further acquisitions, according to global chief executive Dario Frigerio. As part of an aggressive push to win more institutional business, the firm is hoping to add capacity to its existing...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - Investment - Gartmore poised to hire for newly formed positions.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Having ousted his UK chief executive, Gartmore's global boss Paul Hondros is poised to make a string of appointments. Gartmore's official line on the changes is that they are aimed at "refocusing the business along global functional terms" but...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - 'Europe on alternative trajectory'.
January 1, 2005... European investors are poised to increase their allocations to alternative investments, such as hedge funds, currency management and tactical asset allocation (TAA), according to research from the Alternative Investment Management Association...

News & Analysis: Strategies, Products & Mandates - ZGD mandate spurs DeAM's global reorganisation.(Zurich Group Germany)(Deutsche Asset Management)
January 1, 2005... Deutsche Asset Management (DeAM) has been awarded a E24.7bn sub-advisory mandate from Zurich Group Germany (ZGD) to manage the portfolio of its subsidiary Zurich Group Invest Europe Deutschland. The decision comes as part of the insurance...

Comment: The Bender Agenda - CSAM breathes the sweet air of independent operation.(Credit Suisse Asset Management)
January 1, 2005... There are some widely held beliefs that are regularly called into question. They are reviewed, re-assessed, scrapped and invariably resurrected. Up for debate once more in the festive season has been the notion that American investment banks...

Asset Allocation: The Chief - Threadneedle makes beeline for Europe.
January 1, 2005... Even in the first decade of the 21st century, female fund managers are a rare breed. Rarer still are female chief investment officers (CIOs). But Sarah Arkle has presided over the fund management of Threadneedle Investments for the past...

Asset Allocation: Scheme spotlight - ABP embarks on an alternative lifestyle.
January 1, 2005... Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, the pension fund for Dutch government and education employees, recently announced a dramatic 20 per cent strategic allocation to alternative investments. It has come a long way. In 1995, the fund's only gesture...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - Europe - Folly of neglecting small caps.
January 1, 2005... European small caps have performed particularly well in the last two years. As at 30 November 2004, the MSCI Europe Small Cap Index was up 28 per cent annualised since the beginning of 2003 compared with the MSCI Europe Index up 13.7 per cent...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - North America - Bush agenda to promote savings.(George W. Bush)
January 1, 2005... Various post-mortems of the US presidential elections hinged on the theme of "values". One value that seems to have gone out of style in the US is that of saving - the 0.4 per cent household saving rate in the third quarter of 2004 was the...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - South America - Unnecessary war against inflation.
January 1, 2005... Latin America is benefiting from foreign direct investment inflows, fiscal prudence, relatively stable politics, a weaker dollar and the prospect of enhanced Chinese trade and investment. Argentina continues to recover, although its debt...

Asset Allocation: Market Analysis - Asia Pacific - Consumers must show their mettle.
January 1, 2005... After having experienced two strong years of growth since the Sars epidemic, Asia's bull story is not about to reverse its course. Despite some decelerating growth, the Asian region is still expected to stand head and shoulders above its...

Asset Allocation: Portfolio flows - Awaiting a Japanese intervention.
January 1, 2005... Japan came tantalisingly close to technical recession in the third quarter of 2004: GDP grew by just 0.1 per cent over the quarter following a revised fall of 0.1 per cent in Q2. Hopes had been high for a modest upward revision to the Q3 GDP...

Asset Allocation: The Panel - PGGM keeps with aggressive policy.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... PGGM is determined to stick to its bold investment strategy despite the imminent departure of its investment chief and the Dutch government threatening to force it to change its internal fund management team. The E57bn pension fund for...

Asset Allocation: The Panel - Pensions Trust opts for allocation re-fit.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Pensions Trust, a GBP2.3bn (E3.3bn) investment scheme for 4150 UK charities, has recently overhauled its asset allocation strategy in favour of a "liability-driven" method of money management. "At one time we were happy to use the...

Asset Allocation: Mandate Analysis - Hotel brief puts Russell on top.
January 1, 2005... Frank Russell Company has claimed top spot in FT Mandate's listing of multi- manager firms ranked by volume of reported business won over the past 12 months. Among the mandates propelling Frank Russell to first place was a GBP100m (E162m)...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Driving for hedge fund alpha.
January 1, 2005... For increasing numbers of institutional investors, funds of hedge funds offer a first taste of alternative, absolute return investing. Newcomers to the asset class gain exposure to a diverse range of carefully-chosen and closely- monitored...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Absolute returns or diversification.
January 1, 2005... Barriers to entry such as poor information, high minimum investments and low levels of liquidity have long prevented the majority of investors from taking advantage of the benefits of alternative investment strategies in terms of risk reduction...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Coronation Fund Managers - Coronation identifies opportunities.
January 1, 2005... Flagship products Coronation Relative Value Fund: $200m AUM Coronation Global Equity Fund: $550m AUM Coronation Global Macro Fund: $30m AUM Coronation Hedge Fund: Portfolio Managed Accounts Manager selection process -...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Gottex Fund Managers - Gottex seeks a consensus.
January 1, 2005... Flagship product Gottex Market Neutral Fund: $3.7bn AUM Strategy allocation (October 2004) Relative value: 56 per cent Event driven: 30 per cent Hedge equities: 12 per cent Trading: 1 per cent Manager selection...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch & Cie - LODH takes qualitative approach.
January 1, 2005... Flagship product LODH Delta Global Fund. AUM E383.44m Manager selection process A blend of top-down and bottom-up analysis. The top-down analysis focuses on the relative attractiveness of the selected sub-strategies depending on...

Strategy Selection: Manager Survey - Union Bancaire Privee - UBP sets sights on Europe.
January 1, 2005... Flagship product Selectinvest Arbitrage/Relative Value. AUM $3.6bn Manager selection process - Qualitative analysis. On-site meetings, document collection, research report. - Quantitative analysis. Statistical...

Strategy Selection: FX Focus - Approaches to currency management.(Foreign Exchange )
January 1, 2005... Currency overlay is the management of currency in an investment portfolio separately from the management of the other investments. It is currency management 'overlaid' over the top of other assets, meaning that it can take place on a large...

Strategy Selection: The Consulting Room - Actively outperforming bonds.
January 1, 2005... UK pension schemes need investment returns. Many are facing deficits on any reasonable basis of calculation and ever generous contributions are unlikely to plug the gap in many cases. Yet there is strong evidence to suggest that trustees are...

Strategy Selection: Open for tender - Staffordshire shifts fund onto more specialist basis.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The UK's Staffordshire County Council Pension Fund has put five mandates out to tender as part of a move towards a more specialist fund management approach. The GBP1.5bn (e2.2bn) local authority fund is looking for two active UK equity experts...

Strategy Selection: Dream Team - Institutional pioneering.
January 1, 2005... There is nothing particularly remarkable about a medium-sized funds manager seeking to expand, but what is unique about Pioneer Investments is that while it is in this very position, it also has the advantage of a ready-made global presence....

Strategy Selection: Sub-advisory uncovered - Italians branding together.
January 1, 2005... The Italian asset management industry is Europe's second largest fund market. Many financial institutions in Italy are becoming increasingly interested in sub-advisory management and are asking how this trend is affecting the industry. The...

Special Report: Exchange Traded Funds - Enhancing investor awareness.
January 1, 2005... For the last few years the market for exchange traded funds (ETFs) has been experiencing continuous growth. According to a report by Morgan Stanley, assets under management in the sector were $260bn (E194bn) at the end of October 2004, with 326...

Special Report: Exchange Traded Funds - Reaching beyond the institutional.
January 1, 2005... Continued good news from the exchange traded fund (ETF) market over the past 12 months must have had shareholders in Deutsche Borse rubbing their hands in glee. Yet again its XTF segment, created especially for exchange traded funds, dominated...

Special Report: Exchange Traded Funds - Inexpensively making life a little easier.
January 1, 2005... Chris Sutton mulls over the concept that at some point in the future the ETF market could take sales from the passive mutual funds, as institutional investors recognise its benefits. He will not be drawn specifically, but simply says things are...

Round Table: Asset management for life insurers - outsourcing trend is 'unstoppable'.
January 1, 2005... Round Table Attendees - James Bevan, chief investment officer Abbey National, including life businesses of Scottish Mutual and Scottish Provident - Steven Daniels, group director of asset management and acquisitions, Liverpool Victoria...

Performance Overview: Beating the big boys in Japan.
January 1, 2005... A little-known boutique is beating the likes of Axa, DWS and Pictet to the title of top-performing Japanese equity manager. Yet the company's self- effacing co-founder puts this success down simply to being in the right place at the right time....

Support Services: Security Services News - Irish herald Citigroup as top provider of trustee services.
January 1, 2005... Dublin's fund promoters have voted Citigroup top provider of trustee services in the first ever R&M Consultants survey of the Irish market, whose findings were revealed exclusively to FT Mandate. The promoters were also found to have different...

Support Services: Security Services News - Buyout boosts Europe's crossing outlook.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The practice of "crossing" should receive a boost in Europe as a result of ITG Europe's acquisition of E-Crossnet, a rival network in the direct matching of buyers and sellers of shares. Alasdair Haynes, chief executive of ITG, which...

Support Services: Security Services News - BNY wins Templeton split admin mandate.(Bank of New York)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... The Bank of New York (BNY) has won a mandate for the split administration of Franklin Templeton's UK Oeic (open-ended investment company) range of eight funds. The split brief, which began on December 13, covers transfer agency and...

Support Services: Sponsored Article - Letter from Paris - Announcing a French hedge funds capability.
January 1, 2005... On November 25, 2004, France's securities regulator the Autorite des Marches Financiers (AMF) published its reglement general, defining the guidelines for French onshore hedge funds and hence officially allowing their creation. Two other types...

Support Services: Transfer Agency - Multi-jurisdictional capabilities.
January 1, 2005... It is a safe bet that as a fund manager, you do not find transfer agency (TA) very exciting, much less glamourous. But if you have ambitions to be a major global player, it will be necessary to sell products in more than one country with...

Support Services: Fund Administration - Outsourcing the inner sanctum.
January 1, 2005... There is little doubt that 2004 was a great year for outsourcing providers. After a few false starts, outsourcing has finally taken wing and, as one Celent report predicts, the revenues from this area of the industry look set to climb to $30bn...

Support Services: Custody - Accounting for change.
January 1, 2005... "It has been described as Y2K for accountants. It's going to happen, whether you think it's good, bad, or you feel indifferent, but no one is sure exactly what it's going to be like", says Sarah Ingham, Citigroup Scotland's global fund...