Fund Strategy articles from February 2007

Fund Strategy archives from February 2007

COMMENT: Debate on climate change is not over.
February 5, 2007... Media coverage of the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report shows how low public debate has sunk. Almost every publication led on the "news" that climate change was probably largely man-made. Its surprise value was about as...

New Star plans emerging markets funds.
February 5, 2007... New Star Asset Management is planning to launch onshore emerging markets funds, and has also received approval from the Financial Services Authority for a retail version of an institutionally managed global commercial property vehicle. As...

Martin Currie winds up Income & Growth trust.
February 5, 2007... The #109m Martin Currie Income & Growth split-capital investment trust is to be wound-up following reconstruction proposals announced by the board. If approved at an extraordinary general meeting on April 30 (the date of its wind-up),...

Cofunds to add first offshore portfolios.
February 5, 2007... Cofunds is set to announce the inclusion of the first offshore funds on its platform. Fund Strategy understands Cofunds will test the demand for offshore products when it adds the Fidelity-managed FS India Focus and China Focus funds to...

IN BRIEF: Chief executive set to quit Axa.(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Paul Griffiths, chief executive officer and global head of fixed income at Axa Investment Managers UK, is leaving the group to join Credit Suisse on March 12. Griffiths will become managing director and head of fixed income for Credit...

F&C plans dividend cut to fund growth.
February 5, 2007... F&C Asset Management is to cut both its profits and the dividend it pays out in 2007. This is to fund a three-year plan to grow the business and offer more specialist alternative assets to both its retail and institutional client bases....

Morley chief poised to join Alliance Trust.
February 5, 2007... Katherine Garret-Cox, chief investment officer at Morley Fund Management, is to leave the group in March to join Alliance Trust. Cox is expected to make the move in May, taking the role of CIO and group executive director at Alliance. ...

IN BRIEF: Insight makes permanent fee cut.(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Insight is permanently reducing the initial charge on 10 of its retail funds by 1.25%. The Insight Diversified Target Return fund, Wealth Builder Growth, Wealth Builder Balanced, Wealth Builder High Income, UK Dynamic Managed and Global...

Government delays Isa regime reforms by 12 months.
February 5, 2007... Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, has announced a 12-month delay to the government's reform of the Isa regime. As reported in Fund Strategy on December 11, proposals include the removal of the distinctions between mini and maxi...

M&G shuffles managers on Europe and tech portfolios.
February 5, 2007... M&G has made changes to the lead managers on several of its portfolios. Charles Anniss and Cyrille Filott, formerly co-managers, have taken sole charge of the #220m European Smaller Companies and #100m Global Technology Oeics respectively....

IN BRIEF: Dalton recruits manager for Asia.(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Dalton Strategic Partnership has appointed Sally Macdonald as a partner in the firm and manager of its new pan-Asian fund. Macdonald will run the offshore Melchior Selected Trust Asian Advantage fund, set to launch on March 1. She joins the...

IN BRIEF: Credit Suisse waives initial fee.(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Credit Suisse has waived the initial charge on lump sum investments into its multi-manager fund range. The offer will apply to investments made up until the end of April 2007 and will be available on all major fund platforms, including Cofunds,...

IN BRIEF: Morley hires two fund managers.(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Mark Atherton and Simon Jaffe are to join Morley Fund Management. Atherton joins the emerging markets team from Lansdowne Partners and Jaffe, previously a fund manager at F&C Asset Management and NPI Asset Management, joins the value team as a...

IN BRIEF: HSBC appoints global head.(Brief article)
February 5, 2007... Christian Deseglise has been appointed as global head of emerging markets business at HSBC Investments. Deseglise will take responsibility for developing the group's emerging markets business. He joined HSBC Investments in January 2004 and...

Threadneedle unveils property fund.
February 5, 2007... Threadneedle Investments will launch its UK Property Trust on February 19. The fund will be co-run by Don Jordison and Chris Morrogh, both of whom manage institutional portfolios of more than #1bn. They will buy properties outside the...

JPM Asian trust refocuses on small and mid-caps.
February 5, 2007... The #289m JPMorgan Asian Investment trust has undergone several changes since Joshua Tay took over as manager in May 2006. The portfolio's weighting in small-to-mid-cap stocks has increased, where previously the bias was more large-cap. He...

Behavioural finance to be examined in keynote summit session.
February 5, 2007... Behavioural finance will be the topic for one of the keynote sessions at this year's Fund Strategy Investment Summit in St Moritz from March 27-30. It will examine how insights from psychology can be combined with economics to provide a...

Aberdeen plans launch of emerging portfolio.
February 5, 2007... Aberdeen Asset Managers is launching an emerging markets smaller companies fund. Scheduled for March 27, subject to regulatory approval, the portfolio will be a sub-fund of Aberdeen Global, the company's Luxembourg-domiciled Sicav. The...

Multi-asset funds proliferate as definition widens.
February 5, 2007... Multi-asset funds are becoming more complex as they grow in number. Several launches in January have widened the definition to include a greater number of asset classes than ever. Back in 2006, "multi-asset" seemed to mean equities, bonds...

TRENDS: Globalisation is key investment trend.
February 5, 2007... As the fortunes of the world's companies become increasingly linked, and emerging markets outperform their more developed peers, investors are taking a bigger interest in global funds. Whether discussed in industrial, financial, political...

STRATEGY: History supports equities long term.
February 5, 2007... Long-term investors such as pension funds are being encouraged to switch into bonds to avoid short-term volatility, but historical analysis of markets shows this may not be the best move.Recent economic data seemingly offers little clarity on...

Q&A: Axa puts emphasis on spotting talent.(Interview)
February 5, 2007... Charles Firmin-Didot, manager of the Axa Talents fund, answers this week's questions from Will Jackson. Q: You developed the Talents concept in 2000. What is the idea behind it? A: It is very simple. Our emphasis is on investing in...

SUMMIT OF ACHIEVEMENT: Peak of the profession?
February 5, 2007... UK Equity Income funds have performed consistently well for 10 years, beating the FTSE 100 and All-Share indices, as well as the UK All Companies sector. Are fund managers in the sector the best in the business? James Teasdale reports. ...

ANALYSIS: Investec banks on emerging africa.
February 5, 2007... Chris Derksen runs Investec's pan-African portfolios and, despite the tiny stock exchanges in these emerging economies, he predicts growth in capital markets and a wave of privatisations. What comes to mind when you think of Africa?...

AFI: Strong year sees bonds disappoint.
February 5, 2007... Healthy returns from all three Adviser Fund Indices in 2006 did not quite match those of the FTSE All-Share index as allocations to fixed interest, Japan and America took their toll. The 18 Adviser Fund Index panellists had another...

FoFs: Hargreaves looks for added value.
February 5, 2007... Lee Gardhouse, manager of the Hargreaves Lansdown Multi-manager Special Situations fund, analyses size and style bias to determine which managers are adding value to their portfolios. Hargreaves Lansdown's Multi-manager Special Situations...

CHANNELS: Seven dials goes west to find hottest property.
February 5, 2007... Brett Robinson, owner of Seven Dials Consulting, answers this week's questions from Simon Hildrey. Q: What is your background? A: My background is in general institutional fund management, including equities and bonds, but not...

FOCUS: Swip builds retail market presence.
February 5, 2007... Andy Frepp, director of sales and marketing at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, says widening retail distribution has helped its fund range grow significantly. Adam Lewis reports. It is exactly one year since Fund Strategy last...

Fund Manager's Diary: 24-30 January 2007.
February 5, 2007... Wednesday Get into work just after 7.30am after almost killing myself on the treadmill at the gym. I am having to pay the price for too many indulgent client lunches over Christmas but I am determined to get fit. After catching up with my...

COMMENT: Companies need to invest in growth.
February 19, 2007... The corporate landscape has changed markedly over the past decade. A theme common to several developments is risk mitigation, as a reaction to past unfortunate events. America's Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 was passed as a response to several...

Credit Suisse loses fixed income head.
February 19, 2007... Ian Fishwick, head of UK fixed income at Credit Suisse and manager of its #96.6m Corporate Bond Monthly Income fund, has resigned from the group. News of the departure comes weeks after the group announced the hire of Paul Griffiths from...

Gartmore trust board petitions for re-election.
February 19, 2007... The board of the #343m Gartmore European investment trust has issued a plea to shareholders to support the re-election of the trust's existing directors at a reconvened annual general meeting on February 28. The original AGM, set for...

Resolution hires joint leader of US equities.
February 19, 2007... Resolution Asset Management has appointed Terry Ewing as co-head of US equities. Ewing, who joins the group on March 1, will run the US equities desk with co-head Alison Porter. Ewing will co-manage the #118m American Growth fund with...

IN BRIEF: Threadneedle opens China fund.(Brief article)
February 19, 2007... Threadneedle Investments will launch a China Opportunities fund, subject to approval from the Financial Services Authority. The fund will be run by Gigi Chan, deputy fund manager to Vanessa Donegan on the firm's #500m Asia portfolio. The new...

IN BRIEF: Nomura offers protected fund.(Brief article)
February 19, 2007... Nomura has launched an 80% protected Ucits III fund, linked to the Nomura Japan Strategy index. The Japan Strategy 80% Protected fund, aimed at both retail and institutional investors, provides a continuous profit lock-in of 80% of the fund's...

IN BRIEF: Rensburg offers Isa fee discount.(Brief article)
February 19, 2007... The Rensburg UK Managers' Focus trust is offering a 2% discount on all Isa and direct unit trust investments made between March 1 and April 30, 2007. Managed jointly by Colin Morton, Mark Hall, Stuart Sharp and Paul Spencer, the fund has an...

M&G launches Multi Asset portfolio.
February 19, 2007... M&G launched its Cautious Multi Asset fund last week. As reported in Fund Strategy on January 29, the portfolio invests in equities, bonds and property, in addition to fixed income sub-sectors such as leveraged loans and collateralised debt...

Cofunds adds first offshore funds to platform.
February 19, 2007... Cofunds has added 12 Luxembourg-domiciled funds from three fund management houses to its funds platform. As first revealed in Fund Strategy (February 5, 2007, page 5), it added five funds from Fidelity, four from Franklin Templeton and three...

Mid-cap preference boosts Jupiter China.
February 19, 2007... Philip Ehrmann's preference for mid-sized Japanese growth companies has had a positive effect on the performance of the Jupiter China fund. According to Standard & Poor's, from its launch on October 23, 2006, to February 12, 2007, the fund...

IN BRIEF: Threadneedle hires PR head.(Brief article)
February 19, 2007... Threadneedle Investments has appointed Judy Everett to take over from Richard Eats as head of communications. Everett will be responsible for Threadneedle's public relations and communications function. She was previously employed at Shell...

IN BRIEF: IBT raises extra cash via C share.(Brief article)
February 19, 2007... The International Biotechnology Trust has raised an extra #36.1m through a C share issue. The placing and offer for subscription has increased the size of the trust by 47.6%, with 70% of the money coming from new investors. Prior to the issue,...

T Bailey takes on structured products.
February 19, 2007... T Bailey has bought structured products for its funds of funds for the first time. The firm's #140m Growth and #12m Cautious Managed portfolios have taken allocations of 2.5% and 6.9% respectively in two products run by Close Fund Management....

MPC predicts steep fall in inflation near term.
February 19, 2007... In last week's Bank of England inflation report, the Monetary Policy Committee's central prediction for inflation showed a steep fall in the near term, followed by a gradual pick-up. Consumer Price Index inflation will fall from its...

Thames River closes Property fund shares.
February 19, 2007... Thames River has closed two share classes on its Property Growth & Income fund. On February 15, 2007, the sterling and euro share classes on the #236m fund were closed to new subscriptions. The Norwegian krone and Australian dollar share...

IN BRIEF: ICT shareholders vote for rollover.(Brief article)
February 19, 2007... More than 60% of shareholders in the Investors Capital Trust have elected to rollover their investments into a new vehicle with the same name. Rather than redeeming cash on the scheduled winding-up date of February 28, investors agreeing to...

Investors change stance on global economic cycle.
February 19, 2007... Investors are increasingly reassessing their views on the global economic cycle, according to the Merrill Lynch fund manager survey for February. Six months ago, two-thirds of respondents said they thought the global economy was entering...

Cost of protection undermines benefits, study shows.
February 19, 2007... A study by the London Business School has questioned the use of portfolio protection to hedge against market volatility. The findings, presented in ABN Amro's annual Global Investment Returns Yearbook, show the cost of insurance premiums can...

IN BRIEF: New Star makes securities offer.(Brief article)
February 19, 2007... New Star will make a second offering of Hedge Exchange Traded Securities, a London-listed security giving exposure to the RBC Hedge 250 index, at the end of February. Exposure is achieved through swap contracts with Royal Bank of Canada. New...

Offshore sales data inclusion could be problematic.
February 19, 2007... The inclusion of offshore sales data in the Investment Management Association's monthly statistics is imminent, according to the trade body. As reported in last week's Fund Strategy (page 7), the IMA is collecting offshore sales statistics to...

TRENDS: America still merits its central role.
February 19, 2007... With slower growth than other parts of the world, the US may not have been the best place to invest in recent years, but it should not be written off as past its sell-by date just yet. Given the importance of America in the world of...

STRATEGY: Rising rates threaten equity markets.
February 19, 2007... Strong output growth, rising wages and a buoyant housing market are likely to lead the MPC to increase UK interest rates again this year - which would be bad news for equity investors. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has...

Q&A: Rensburg's attention back with mid-caps.(Interview)
February 19, 2007... Paul Spencer, manager of the Rensburg UK Mid Cap Growth Trust, speaks to Simon Hildrey. Q: What did you do before joining Rensburg a year ago? A: I was head of research for TD Waterhouse's institutional broking department. I was in...

SHORT SUPPLY: While stocks last.
February 19, 2007... With stockmarkets, commodities and house prices on a high, are investors running out of places to put their money? Sunil Jagtiani considers the theory that global financial assets are in short supply. Large numbers of investors have...

SHORT SUPPLY: The value shortage.
February 19, 2007... The view that there is a shortage of financial assets in the world is controversial. But the observation that investors have pushed up the price of many different types of financial instrument, creating a shortage in value, appears to have...

SHORT SUPPLY: The artful asset search.
February 19, 2007... One intuitive test of the proposition that the world is suffering from a shortage of financial assets is to look for unusual investment patterns suggesting those flush with cash are searching for a home for their money. Arguably, recent...

CHANNELS: Partnership approach is solution for advisers.
February 19, 2007... David Harrison, executive chairman of Positive Solutions, answers questions from Will Jackson. Q: What is the history of Positive Solutions? A: The company was founded in 1997 by myself and Maurice Cotter. It has continued to grow...

ANALYSIS: Axa puts trust in unshackled talent.
February 19, 2007... Charles Firmin-Didot, manager of the Axa WF Talents fund, says his team trawls the globe for entrepreneurs who are debt-free and dynamic - but he does not expect to find them in Britain. You can tell that Charles Firmin-Didot revels in a...

AFI: Balanced index finished year on top.
February 19, 2007... The Balanced Adviser Fund Index outperformed both the Aggressive and Cautious AFIs last year, despite a slow start, partly as a result of higher exposure to UK Equity Income and property funds. With a total return of 12.2%, the Balanced...

FoFs: Buy-and-hold policy delivers for F&C.
February 19, 2007... F&C's Multi Manager Balanced portfolio has increased in size by 50% in a year, despite little change in asset allocation and underlying holdings, says Richard Philbin, head of fund of funds. Since Fund Strategy last profiled F&C's Multi...

FOCUS: Henderson refocuses on performance.
February 19, 2007... Henderson Global Investors made a series of alterations to its fund range last year, renaming several of its portfolios as well as changing managers and objectives. Frances Hughes reports. Much has happened at Henderson Global Investors...

Fund Manager's Diary: 5-11 February 2007.
February 19, 2007... Monday Busy week ahead with lots of company results, which means news flow that has to be prepared for further assimilation. I spend some time looking at the composition of the three funds I manage, including a review of the fund performance...

COMMENT: Asian firms are set to be world leaders.
February 26, 2007... Many large European companies seem to be pinning their hopes for the future on outsourcing production to Asia. While this might work as a short-term financial strategy, it will not alter the shifting power balance between the two continents....

Aegon boosts fund range with launch of three Oeics.
February 26, 2007... Aegon Asset Management is to launch three Oeics this week: UK Opportunities, UK Cautious Managed and Ethical Cautious Managed. UK Opportunities, a concentrated, high-conviction fund, will be run by Audrey Ryan, manager of the firm's #135m...

Morningstar plans bid for S&P mutual business.
February 26, 2007... Morningstar plans to buy the Standard & Poor's mutual fund data business for $55m (#28m) in cash, subject to post-closing adjustments. The purchase is designed to strengthen Morningstar's presence outside America, particularly in Europe, it...

IN BRIEF: HSBC funds join Skandia platforms.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... HSBC Investments has launched its OpenFunds multi-asset fund of funds range on Skandia's Life and Pensions, Multi-fund, Multi-Isa and Multi- Pep platforms. The move means the Open Global Return and Open Global Distribution products are...

IN BRIEF: L&G to buy Nationwide firms.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... Legal & General is to purchase Nationwide Building Society's wholly owned subsidiaries, Nationwide Life and Nationwide Unit Trust Managers, subject to Financial Services Authority approval. The sale of the two companies, which is expected to...

IN BRIEF: JPM conversion deadline nears.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... Investors in the JPM European investment trust who wish to move between the growth and income share classes must have their applications in by February 28. Shareholders in either of the two share classes are able to convert some or all of...

Hargreaves rules out private sale.
February 26, 2007... Peter Hargreaves, chief executive of Hargreaves Lansdown, has denied suggestions that the business will be sold to a private equity or venture capital firm. While Hargreaves would not speculate on any plans to float the business, he said...

Barclays to offer European real estate portfolio.
February 26, 2007... Barclays Capital is to launch a European Real Estate Income fund modelled on the Barclays Capital Asian Real Estate Income fund it launched in June 2006. The European version, set to launch next month, will invest in European real estate...

L&G seeks approval for global bond fund.
February 26, 2007... Legal & General Investment Management is to launch a global bond fund, subject to Financial Services Authority approval. The fund is expected to be named the Global Dynamic Bond trust and will invest in investment grade and high-yield...

IN BRIEF: F&C cuts fee on UK Growth fund.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... F&C has reduced the initial charge on its UK Growth & Income fund by 2%, until April 27. The offer applies to both Isa and non-Isa investments, for purchases through several fund supermarkets including FundsNetwork and Cofunds. The #70m fund...

IN BRIEF: Bedlam to host seminars.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... Bedlam Asset Management will run a series of seminars next month. The first seminars, entitled "Taking the danger out of investing in the emerging markets", will be on March 7. The second, "Investors in the UK - the stocks you should be...

IN BRIEF: Principal appoints two senior staff.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... Principal Investment Management has made two senior appointments. William Gilmore has joined the firm to develop a service researching and managing hedged investment products. Prior to joining Principal, Gilmore was the risk manager of a...

JPM to offer multi-asset fund of funds.
February 26, 2007... JP Morgan Asset Management is poised to launch a multi-asset class fund of funds. The JPM Progressive Multi-Strategy fund will attempt to deliver equity- like returns with lower volatility over the medium to long term. It will invest...

Bankers trust cuts back mid-cap and UK equities.
February 26, 2007... The Henderson Bankers Investment Trust will continue to reduce its exposure to British equities and global mid-cap companies over the next year, says Alex Crooke, its manager. Since the end of 2005, the trust's exposure to global mid-caps...

Threadneedle boosts UK Select exposure to small and mid-caps.
February 26, 2007... Mark Westwood has increased the small and mid-cap exposure of Threadneedle's #230m UK Select fund since taking it over in October 2006. Westwood has taken 10% and 20% allocations in small and mid-cap stocks respectively, with the...

IN BRIEF: FundsNetwork set to unveil bond.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... FundsNetwork will launch its offshore International Bond in April. The bond is designed to complement the platform's Investment Bond and self- invested personal pension wrappers. Advisers will be able to invest client money in more than 1,000...

IN BRIEF: Tri Investments seeks investors.(Brief article)
February 26, 2007... Tri Investments is seeking new investors for its European Residential Property fund. The firm has identified several opportunities in Eastern European cities, largely to service growth in the international business community. The projects...

Correction: Ehrmann's preference.(Correction notice)
February 26, 2007... In last week's Fund Strategy (February 19, 2007, page 6), it was reported that Philip Ehrmann's preference for mid-cap Japanese growth companies had had a positive effect on the performance of the Jupiter China fund, and that the fund was...

Markets rule out further Japan hike.
February 26, 2007... The markets seem to be discounting any more imminent increases after the Bank of Japan hiked rates by a quarter point to 0.5% last week. Japanese equities rose to their highest level for several years after the move, while the yen fell...

Derivative use increases asset correlation.
February 26, 2007... A report by Capital Economics has warned that the increasing use of derivatives is leading to higher levels of correlation between asset classes. The economic consultancy has previously questioned investor confidence in the use of asset...

Norwich Union Higher Income reaps rewards of high-yield bonds.
February 26, 2007... Following seven months of strong performance from high-yield bonds, the #600m Norwich Union Higher Income Plus fund has started to take some profits out of the sector. Dominic White, assistant manager to Roger Webb on the fund at Morley...

Groups get to grips with new regime as Coll deadline passes.
February 26, 2007... Blink and you would have missed it but two weeks ago the deadline passed for converting to the FSA's new collective investment schemes sourcebook. For the past three years fund management groups have been working to convert their fund ranges...

CHANNELS: Franchise set-up helps Ashley Law expand.
February 26, 2007... Jock Cassidy, managing director of Ashley Law, answers this week's questions from Will Jackson. Q: What is the history of Ashley Law? A: I founded and incorporated the company in 1989. At that stage it was an appointed representative...