Fund Strategy articles from July 2006

Fund Strategy archives from July 2006

COMMENT: Investment "puzzle" needs clarification.
July 3, 2006... The terms "technology" and "investment" have different meanings depending on the context. In everyday use they normally refer to consumer gadgets and playing the stockmarket respectively. But from an economic perspective, it is more...

Nordea plans Sicav sales push in UK.
July 3, 2006... Nordea Investment Funds is to market its Luxembourg-based Sicav range to British IFAs for the first time from July 1. Until now the Nordea 1 range has only been available to institutional investors in Britain. The Nordea 1 Sicav has...

Figures reveal fall in unit trust and Oeic sales.
July 3, 2006... IMA figures released last week show that net retail sales of unit trusts and Oeics fell to #548m in May from #1.96bn in April. Although in part this can be explained by a slowdown in demand following the end of the Isa season, weak global...

Seven IFAs sign up to join wrap proposition.
July 3, 2006... David Ferguson and Philip Martin, directors of Abacus, a market consulting firm, have signed up seven British IFA companies to be part of a new wrap proposition called Nucleus. The seven founding IFA firms will own 51% of the Nucleus...

IN BRIEF: MS Quilter adds to Glasgow team.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Morgan Stanley Quilter has appointed Craig Stirling as investment manager at its Glasgow office. Stirling, who will report to Alan Cameron, executive director and head of the Glasgow branch, joins from Gerrard, where he spent 12 years. The firm...

IN BRIEF: FSA reveals rise in authorised firms.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... The Financial Services Authority's annual report, covering the period April 1, 2005, to March 31, 2006, shows that the number of authorised firms increased by 23,511, to 28,969. This was largely a result of the extension of the FSA's...

IN BRIEF: Swip appoints head of global.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has appointed Ian Vose as head of global developed markets. Vose will be responsible for driving performance across Swip's global, Japanese and US equity funds, with a total of #7.4bn in assets. Vose,...

IN BRIEF: Axa appoints two for new team.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Axa Investment Managers has created a new currency management team within its fixed income business. Andrew Dales has been appointed head of currency management. He joins from Barclays Global Investors and will be based in London. In addition,...

IN BRIEF: Survey reveals gender divide.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... A survey by ABN Amro Asset Management reveals that men make investment decisions based on cost, while women rely on advice from friends. The study shows that 33% of men are more likely to be influenced by management fees, compared with 10%...

IN BRIEF: Aberdeen plans new charity funds.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Aberdeen is to launch three charity funds: the Charity Select UK Bond fund, the Charity Select UK Equities fund and the Charity Select Global ex UK Equity fund. The launches expand the range of products Aberdeen already offers its charity...

Investec UK Alpha manager resigns.
July 3, 2006... Daniel Hanbury, manager of Investec's #30m UK Alpha and #100m UK Smaller Companies funds, has resigned from the firm. Hanbury will join River & Mercantile Asset Management in late October, says James Barham, chief executive at R&M. ...

Henderson appoints manager for European fund.
July 3, 2006... Henderson Global Investors has appointed Paul Casson as manager of its #400m European Capital Growth fund. Casson, who joined the firm from SVM in October last year, currently manages European equity mandates for Henderson's American mutual...

Fidelity adds sterling to 16 offshore funds.
July 3, 2006... Fidelity has added sterling share classes to 16 of its offshore funds. The move doubles the group's range of fixed interest income funds and introduces Fidelity Latin American and emerging markets funds to British investors for the first...

IN BRIEF: Change to listing regime welcomed.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... The Association of Investment Trust Companies has welcomed the liberalisation of the listing regime, proposed by the UK Listing Authority in its recent review. The change would allow the listing in the UK of new types of fund, including hedge...

Performance beats style in battle for sales, study finds.
July 3, 2006... Research commissioned by the Bank of New York indicates that performance, not brand awareness, is the primary driver of sales for European retail fund managers. The report, entitled "The battle for sales - brand versus performance",...

Report highlights "unusual patterns" in global economy.
July 3, 2006... The world economy is developing unusual features despite strong overall growth, according to the latest annual report from the Bank for International Settlements.* Corporate profits appeared to have reached historical highs as a...

IN BRIEF: New director to join Standard Life.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Standard Life Investments has appointed Arthur Milson as investment director, fixed income. Milson was previously associate director, integrated and acquisition finance at Bank of Scotland. Prior to this he worked for KPMG in London and...

IN BRIEF: Bankers trust beats benchmark.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... The Bankers Investment Trust has outperformed its benchmark by 4.3%, according to its results for the half-year ending April 30. The trust's net asset value rose by 19.7%, compared with 15.4% for the FTSE All- Share. Revenue return per share...

IN BRIEF: RAM appoints head of sales.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Resolution Asset Management has appointed Gary Walker as head of its institutional sales team. Walker is a former director of European sales and marketing at GE Asset Management. He will take over responsibility for growing RAM's British...

IN BRIEF: Lehman recruits global head.(Brief article)
July 3, 2006... Lehman Brothers, the global investment bank, has appointed Stephane Rougier as a managing director and global head of structured asset management. Rougier will report to Omar Abukhadra, global head of the investment management division,...

New Star plans conversion to Coll.
July 3, 2006... New Star is to mail unitholders of 14 of its unit trusts and Oeics at the end of July, as it begins a three-stage process to convert its 32 retail funds to the FSA's new collective investment scheme rulebook (Coll). The first phase of...

IMA calls for more streamlined cross-border selling.
July 3, 2006... The final guidelines on the cross-border selling of Ucits investment funds across Europe do not go far enough, according to the Investment Management Association. Following two periods of consultations, last week the Committee of...

Morley manager makes savage cuts to property fund cash weightings.
July 3, 2006... The manager of the Morley Property Investment fund has drastically reduced cash levels since taking over the portfolio in March. "The key problem facing the fund was that it had built up relatively high cash levels," says David Wise,...

TRENDS: The problem with sector definitions.
July 3, 2006... The Investment Management Association's sector classifications are meant to allow investors to make "like-for-like" comparisons of funds, but are so broad that no true comparison is possible. On June 15 the Investment Management...

STRATEGY: Correction calls for defensive approach.(Correction notice)
July 3, 2006... Global equity markets have suffered a meaningful correction in the second quarter of 2006. At best these moves have more or less wiped out the gains made in the first quarter. At worst they have delivered actual negative year-to-date returns....

Q&A: Taking a top-down and bottom-up approach.(Interview)
July 3, 2006... Justin Jordan, manager of the Close Special Situations fund, talks to Simon Hildrey. Q: Why have you launched the Close Special Situations fund? A: We believe there is a place for a fund that is focused on the small- cap market, and...

The future of technology.
July 3, 2006... Since the technology, media and telecoms bubble burst, consumer spending on gadgets such as iPods has helped keep the sector afloat. But with such spending growth under threat, what are the sector's prospects? Adam Lewis reports. When...

Technology ups and downs.
July 3, 2006... In March 2000 the Nasdaq stood proudly at 5000 and investors in technology were reaping the rewards of the rapid growth of the sector. Some 24 months later, a burst in the telecoms, media and technology bubble saw the Nasdaq plummet to about...

CHANNELS: Strong foundation gives platform solid support.
July 3, 2006... David Dalton-Brown, executive director of FundsNetwork, answers questions from Will Jackson. Q: FundsNetwork was launched in June 2000. How would you sum up the first six years? A: Platforms have become the norm for investment business...

ANALYSIS: Investor with extraordinary conviction.
July 3, 2006... Mark Harris, manager of the New Star Balanced Portfolio, maintains some extremely large holdings in his favourite portfolios, with #107m alone in the Merrill Lynch UK Dynamic fund. You thought that Mark Lyttleton, manager of the #940m UK...

FOCUS: Franklin sets sights on UK expansion.
July 3, 2006... Franklin Templeton has a high profile in America, and with its UK- domiciled funds set to achieve three-year track records in 2007, it is planning to expand its UK offering. Frances Hughes reports. Franklin Templeton Investments consists of...

AFIs are comparable to funds of funds.
July 3, 2006... Many parallels can be drawn between the investment research methods adopted by Adviser Fund Index panellists and those used by fund of funds managers. When putting together AFI portfolio recommendations, every panellist is essentially defining...

FoFs: Margetts maintains Asian focus.
July 3, 2006... Toby Rickets, investment director at Margetts, says the group is keeping faith with British and East Asian equities but remains underweight America in its International Strategy portfolio When Fund Strategy last profiled Margetts Fund...

Fund Manager's Diary: 19-25 June 2006.
July 3, 2006... Monday I start early every morning and spend the time prior to the daily 8.30 traders' meeting catching up on research notes and voicemails from the teams in Boston and Asia. Mondays and Fridays tend to be low trading volume days in the bond...

COMMENT: Successful people are not the bad guys.
July 10, 2006... Lex Luthor is dead. To be more precise, Kenneth Lay, former head of Enron and the model for the supervillain in the new Superman Returns movie, has died. In many ways, Lay is an appropriate template for Kevin Spacey's portrayal of the...

Skandia puts asset management division under one roof.
July 10, 2006... Skandia UK has announced the formation of an asset management division that, the firm says, will allow it to oversee its fund group relationships from a single location. The division will be run by Jamie MacLeod, chief executive officer...

Review prompts staff moves at Axa Framlington.
July 10, 2006... Following a strategic review of its multi-manager business, Nick Hodgson, head of UK retail sales at Axa Framlington, has assumed the new role of director, closed-ended funds and multi-manager fund range. Additionally, Caspar Rock, a member...

IN BRIEF: Swip absolute return fund launch.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has launched its range of three absolute return funds, as reported in Fund Strategy on May 29. The funds have a minimum investment of #1,000 and initial charges of either 3.75% or 5%. Copyright:...

IN BRIEF: Io fund takes on PSigma name.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... The io UK Income and Growth fund has changed its name to PSigma UK Income and Growth, to align itself with the fund's managers, PSigma Investment Management. The #15m fund was launched in October, 2003. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Abbey launches deposit accounts.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Abbey has launched its latest issue of capital guaranteed structured deposit accounts. Four bonds are available, offering a full return of capital at maturity and different benefits depending on the link to the underlying investment. The...

IN BRIEF: Insight finalises platform structure.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Insight Investment has completed the restructuring of its equity platform, with an emphasis on smaller management teams and the generation of alpha. The platform has three elements: passive/enhanced index, long only alpha and long/short. The...

IN BRIEF: iimia announces 39% rise in assets.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... The iimia Investment Trust has reported that its net asset value rose 39% in the year ending April 30, while the trust's shares have traded between a 3% premium and a 4% discount. The fundraising has increased the size of the trust by 40%...

Liontrust managers reveal strategy.
July 10, 2006... James Inglis-Jones and Gary West will focus their investment policy on the inaccuracies of profit forecasting when managing European funds at Liontrust. As revealed in Fund Strategy (June 26, page 5), the two managers, who joined Liontrust...

Investec seeks Ucits III approval for bond fund.
July 10, 2006... Investec Asset Management is seeking Financial Services Authority approval to make use of the full investment powers of Ucits III legislation on its #125.7m Sterling Bond fund. If approved, the group will give unitholders in the fund 60...

S&P establishes rating system for absolute return portfolios.
July 10, 2006... Standard & Poor's has unveiled a classification system and ratings research process for absolute return funds. Kate Hollis, an associate director at S&P, says the firm is the first to establish criteria on what constitutes an absolute...

IN BRIEF: ABN appoints head of research.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... ABN Amro Asset Management has appointed Ella Brown as global head of equity research. Brown joins from Credit Suisse, where she spent five years leading the European equity research team. Prior to that, she spent eight years at JP Morgan...

IN BRIEF: Goldman analyst joins Investec.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Investec Asset Management has appointed Bradley George as an investment analyst. George joins the firm from Goldman Sachs, where he spent seven years specialising in the commodities sector. In his new role, he will report to Domenico...

IN BRIEF: TRC launches European fund.(Brief article)
July 10, 2006... Thames River Capital has launched the Tybourne fund. The portfolio, which raised E35m (#24m) at launch, is a European mid-cap equity long/short portfolio investing in British and Continental European equities with capitalisations of between...

Survey reveals rise in shift to bonds.
July 10, 2006... The Investment Management Association's fourth annual Asset Management Survey reveals that pension funds continued to move assets from equities into bonds in 2005. The IMA estimates a shift into fixed interest of #30-40bn, a figure...

RLAM to ring changes in wake of new rulebook.
July 10, 2006... Royal London Asset Management has announced several changes to its fixed income and cash unit trusts as part of its adoption of the FSA's new collective investment scheme rulebook (Coll). From August 1, the Royal London Income Trust will...

Study predicts end to China's inflation effect.
July 10, 2006... China's contribution to lowering inflation in the developed world is likely to end soon, according to a report by Smithers & Co.* Andrew Smithers, head of Smithers & Co, acknowledges that China has played a role in reducing global...

Sea change prompts rise in demand for offshore funds.
July 10, 2006... More offshore funds are being marketed in Britain than ever before. According to a survey of 45 firms by the Investment Management Association, 19% of assets under management in Britain are domiciled offshore. With Fidelity announcing last...

STRATEGY: The benefits of overseas investing.
July 10, 2006... As global markets become increasingly linked, British investors should consider taking exposure to overseas bonds and equities to maximize their returns - but keep an eye on currency volatility. In recent years, the coordinated expansion...

STRATEGY: US inflation pressures will continue.
July 10, 2006... The next six months is likely to be a difficult period for both bond and equity investors, with fears that American inflationary pressures are out of control expected to lead to higher interest rates. Financial markets have become...

Q&A: Good contacts are key to purchasing property.(Interview)
July 10, 2006... David Wise, manager of the Morley Property Investment fund, is questioned by Frances Hughes. Q: As reported in last week's Fund Strategy (page 10), you have severely cut the levels of cash in the Morley Property Investment fund since...

FEATURE: Double trouble.
July 10, 2006... Following the seventeenth consecutive rise in US interest rates, fears are growing that America could slow down by the end of the year, just as China's rapid economic expansion looks set to falter. Sunil Jagtiani reports. The US Federal...

China's struggle to avert a hard landing.
July 10, 2006... Analysts are sceptical about official Chinese economic statistics, but most nonetheless agree the country's economy has been booming, driven by a shifting mix of massive export growth, high investment levels and domestic demand....

American house prices.
July 10, 2006... Rising house prices have helped drive US economic growth over the past few years - for instance, by stimulating the new-home construction sector and boosting household balance sheets, encouraging consumers to borrow and spend. House...

REVIEW: Enlightened theories are valid today.
July 10, 2006... Both free marketeers and Labour supporters have claimed Adam Smith's legacy for their own narrow ends. A new book examines the real contemporary relevance of the 18th century thinker. Adam Smith (1723-1790) was one of the first and...

ANALYSIS: Transferring UK success to Europe.
July 10, 2006... Ajay Gambhir, manager of the AAA-rated JPM UK Dynamic fund, uses the same unconstrained approach when selecting stocks for the European version of the portfolio, with much success. Ajay Gambhir is widely known as a top UK growth manager....

FOCUS: Investec's strong end to a busy year.
July 10, 2006... Investec has added #1bn to its total assets under management over the past 12 months. David Aird, managing director, describes it as one of the group's strongest years ever. Adam Lewis reports. Investec Asset Management has had a busy...

AFI: Riskier investments bounce highest.
July 10, 2006... The share prices of companies in higher-risk areas such as emerging markets fell furthest in the recent stockmarket falls, but have since gained the most - much like the Adviser Fund Indices Most global equity markets have recouped a good...

FoFs: Threadneedle widens global vision.
July 10, 2006... Alex Lyle, deputy manager of Threadneedle's Global Equity fund of funds, says the group's Emerging Equity portfolio has been added to the fund at the expense of exposure to America. Threadneedle's Global Equity portfolio has risen to ninth...

Fund Manager's Diary: 26-30 June 2006.
July 10, 2006... Monday This is the Monday after the weekend before. I refer to the Martin Currie Rob Roy Challenge, an event for charity that involves running then cycling 55 miles of the Rob Roy Way in highland Perthshire. It took place on Saturday, and I...

COMMENT: Middle East conflict will not hit oil supply.
July 17, 2006... The recent round of conflict in the Middle East has raised concerns about the security of global oil supplies. Such worries betray an ignorance about the geography and history of the region. It might sound obvious but the first step in...

Dalton plans retail Indian Opps fund.
July 17, 2006... Dalton Strategic Partnership is planning to create a retail version of its existing Melchior Indian Opportunities fund, which it launched in November last year. Managed by Ur Bhat, the existing fund is a Mauritian-based, Dublin- listed...

Old Mutual hires manager to run Equity Income.
July 17, 2006... Old Mutual Asset Managers has hired Michael Gifford, a former manager at Canada Life and F&C, to run its #54m Old Mutual Equity Income fund. Gifford who joined the company this week, replaces Suresh Sadasivan, who has moved to the group's...

Bank of Japan votes to abandon zero interest rate after five years.
July 17, 2006... The Bank of Japan has abandoned its zero interest rate policy after five years. In a unanimous decision, its policy board voted last week to raise its uncollaterised overnight call rate - the short-term policy rate - to 0.25%. It also...

IN BRIEF: AWD finalises major acquisition.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... AWD Group has completed its acquisition of Chase de Vere, creating an IFA with more than 300 advisers and 71,000 clients. The group will trade under the AWD Chase de Vere brand. AWD Holdings has operations in 11 European countries, including...

IN BRIEF: Westbury aims to raise #60m.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... The Westbury Property Fund has announced proposals to raise #60m, or #57.6m after expenses, via a placing and offer for subscription of almost 43 million new ordinary shares, at 140 pence per share. The company intends to broaden its...

IN BRIEF: Park Row makes Selestia provider.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... Park Row, the IFA firm owned by Royal Liver, has announced that Selestia will be the exclusive investment provider for the advisers in its nationwide Managed Sales Force. As part of the agreement, MSF advisers will be trained in the use of the...

IN BRIEF: Cofunds adds allocation tool.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... Cofunds has introduced Portfolio Planning, a new asset allocation tool service powered by Distribution Technology's Dynamic Planner. Based on historical inputs, the model provides a guide to the range of potential outcomes clients face when...

IN BRIEF: Barings opens up to hedge funds.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... Barings has opened its European Smaller Companies Absolute Return fund to hedge fund investors. The fund aims to deliver returns of 12% a year, with low volatility. It focuses on small and medium-sized companies, with a bottom-up style. It...

IN BRIEF: Brown appoints two to MPC.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... Gordon Brown has announced the appointments of Tim Besley and Andrew Sentance to the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee. Besley, appointed with effect from September 1, is a professor of economics and political science at the London...

Barings converts risk funds to Ucits III.
July 17, 2006... Barings is converting its multi-manager risk portfolios to Ucits III. The Extended Risk Portfolio, Optimum Risk Portfolio and Reduced Risk Portfolio funds will all be available to UK retail investors from August, subject to regulatory...

L&G unveils fourth capital protection product.
July 17, 2006... Legal & General has launched the fourth product in its series of capital protection and early payment feature investments. Growth Investment Plan Plus 4 is available until September 8. The plan provides investors with 100% of any capital...

MLIM allows British investors access to offshore India fund.
July 17, 2006... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has opened its offshore India fund to British investors. The $340m (#180m) portfolio was launched in February 2005 and added to the firm's $60bn Luxembourg-domiciled range in April. The fund is run by...

IN BRIEF: Deutsche appoints global heads.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... Deutsche Asset Management has appointed Klaus Kaldemorgen and Heinz Fesser as global head of equities and global head of fixed income respectively. The two men will be responsible for all equity and fixed income products, investment processes,...

IN BRIEF: Thomson releases SRI survey results.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... Thomson Extel, part of Thomson Financial, has announced the results of its fourth annual survey on socially responsible investment. The survey had responses from 124 buy-side and 16 sell-side European firms. According to the survey, nearly a...

IN BRIEF: HSBC hedge funds raise $58m.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... HSBC European Absolute and HSBC Global Absolute, the London-listed hedge fund investment companies advised by HSBC Republic Investments, have raised $58m (#30m) from institutional and private investors. Following the placing and offer for...

IMA reviews classification change.
July 17, 2006... The Investment Management Association is reviewing the need for new sector classification amid increasing calls for a new peer group for funds that fully uses the flexibility of Ucits III. Threadneedle, Brown Shipley and Allianz Global...

Martin Currie Global Alpha fund reaches #20m.
July 17, 2006... Martin Currie's unconstrained Global Alpha fund has taken in more than #20m worth of assets since it was launched at the end of May. Managed by Alison Hamilton, the fund is unconstrained by sector or geography and is invested in 44...

Rensburg to add high alpha best ideas fund to UK equity range.
July 17, 2006... Rensburg Fund Management is to launch a high alpha best ideas UK equity fund in early September, subject to regulatory approval. The fund will be constructed from portfolios run independently by four managers: Stuart Sharp, Colin Morton,...

IN BRIEF: Henderson Far East plans move.(Brief article)
July 17, 2006... The directors of Henderson Far East Income Trust have announced they are considering proposals to re-domicile the company in Jersey. The move is designed to achieve tax efficiencies that would give an increase in the amount of income...