Fund Strategy articles from June 2006

Fund Strategy archives from June 2006

COMMENT: Misplaced anxieties will stunt progress.
June 5, 2006... The price of commodities depends, as any high school economics student should be able to explain, on the balance between supply and demand. A more difficult task is to examine the factors that influence supply and demand. Much of the...

Gartmore fund cut from buy lists after manager departs.
June 5, 2006... Two leading intermediary firms have removed the Gartmore China Opportunities fund from their recommended buy lists following the announcement that Philip Ehrmann, the fund's manager, is to leave. Ehrmann's departure, which will happen in...

Morley to manage two funds for Barclays Capital.
June 5, 2006... Morley Fund Management is to run two income funds for Barclays Capital that will actively invest in a mixture of equities, bonds and covered call options. Fund Strategy understands that the two funds - Global Balanced Income and Global...

IN BRIEF: Collings set to join Resolution.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Bryan Collings, former head of global emerging market equities at Barings, is to join the new Resolution Asset Management emerging markets boutique. The high alpha boutique is expected to launch in October. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: Merrill Lynch hires real estate director.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has appointed Matthew Ryall as director of its real estate research team. He will be responsible for the planned European fund of funds, which is seeking regulatory approval. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: Aberdeen to run Thai Euro fund.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Aberdeen Asset Management has been appointed to take over the running of the Thai Euro fund from MFC Asset Management on June 1. The open- ended fund, which was launched in 1988, has a value of more than $30m (#16m). The fund is...

IN BRIEF: Christows signs Skandia bond deal.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Christows has signed a deal to manage client assets within Royal Skandia's portfolio bond range. The agreement allows IFAs to delegate investment authority on the bonds to the stockbroker. The firm is one of two British investment managers to...

IN BRIEF: S&P upgrades two GAM funds.(Brief article)
June 5, 2006... Standard & Poor's has upgraded two GAM funds - Japan and Star Japan Equity - from A to AA ratings. The Japan fund, domiciled in the British Virgin Islands, was launched in 1985 and has $550m (#290m) in assets under management. Star Japan...

Fidelity replaces Lo on China fund.
June 5, 2006... Fidelity International has announced the appointment of Martha Wang as manager of its China Focus fund, following the resignation of Patrick Lo. Lo, who managed the fund since its inception in August 2003, had worked at Fidelity for the...

Property fund sales catching up with equities.
June 5, 2006... Property funds nearly outsold the UK All Companies sector in net retail terms in April, according to the latest monthly statistics from the Investment Management Association. Net retail sales of funds investing in commercial property and...

Royal London launches "more flexible" UK fund for Himsworth.
June 5, 2006... Royal London Asset Management has unveiled a new fund for manager Leigh Himsworth, following his arrival from Rensburg in April. The UK Strategic Growth trust was launched last week. Himsworth says the fund is more flexible than the UK...

Developing world performing well.
June 5, 2006... Prospects for the developing world look robust despite recent emerging market volatility, according to the World Bank. The organisation's Global Development Finance 2006* report estimates that net capital flows to the developing world...

Mellon seeks UK status for new offshore fund.
June 5, 2006... Mellon Global Investments has launched the Mellon fund. The Dublin- domiciled fund, which sits in the Mellon Global Funds (MGF) Ucits umbrella, is managed by Standish Mellon Asset Management, one of the 13 asset management subsidiaries of...

Swip splits global real estate fund with Russell.
June 5, 2006... The Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has launched a multi-manager global property fund, in collaboration with the Russell Investment Group. The Multi-Manager Global Real Estate Securities fund, launched last week, is the first global...

ANALYSIS: Multi-asset momentum picks up as New Star enters market.
June 5, 2006... The trend towards multi-asset funds of funds seems to be gathering pace. As reported in Fund Strategy on May 22 (page 5), New Star's Tri- Star fund is the latest addition to the class. Gregor Logan, the fund manager, is expected to split the...

TRENDS: Fixed interest cuts risk not returns.
June 5, 2006... Fixed interest securities are unpopular with investors, who see the asset class as unadventurous and adding little to their portfolios. But the risk-reduction benefits outweigh any drop in returns. When talking about investments with...

STRATEGY: Cause for optimism rather than panic.
June 5, 2006... A downturn in global markets is under way as high interest rates put pressure on the debt-ridden American consumer. But the loss of confidence in the markets should be only a temporary blip. Market volatility is back. After three years of...

Q&A: Financial markets will stay on shaky ground.(Interview)
June 5, 2006... Simon Hayley, financial markets analyst at Capital Economics, answers questions from Will Jackson. Q: Your recent report "Investors run into the correlation trap" highlights the danger of greater correlation between apparently unrelated...

FEATURE: Valuable commodities.
June 5, 2006... Global demand for commodities is increasing, driven partly by the Olympic building programme in China, and investors are keen to take advantage. But have we reached the peak of the bull run in commodity prices? Sunil Jagtiani reports. The...

Bill Miller's commentary on commodities.
June 5, 2006... Bill Miller, a practitioner of value investing and one of the most successful fund managers in America, released a widely read and influential analysis of the commodity sector earlier this year. Today, commodities' role as a portfolio...

A commodity wager.
June 5, 2006... Famous debates over the scarcity or abundance of commodities punctuate human history. One such argument occurred a quarter of a century ago, when "doom-slaying" economist Julian Simon squared off against biologist and "resource pessimist"...

REVIEW: Miserable message is too one-sided.
June 5, 2006... Many opinion polls show that substantial increases in affluence have not made people happier - but it does not follow that economic growth damages well-being. The Challenge of Affluence is one of the most profoundly miserable books...

ANALYSIS: Banking bias puts blue planet on top.
June 5, 2006... Blue Planet Worldwide Financials is perhaps not the most well-known fund but it should be: under fund manager Ken Murray it is the top- performing investment trust over the past year. Profits at global banks in 2004 were $544bn (#291bn). In...

FoFs: Barings puts faith in experience.
June 5, 2006... When the Baring Multi Manager Asia Equity fund launched 18 months ago, its focus was on solid consistency rather than extreme outperformance. David Coombes, head of multi-manager at Barings and the main manager on the fund, says this is key...

FOCUS: Patience pays when launching funds.
June 5, 2006... JOHCM recruits the manager before it launches the fund. This, says Nichola Pease, explains why its funds are like buses: none arrive for ages then three come along at once. Simon Hildrey reports. For a boutique asset manager, JO Hambro...

AFI: British equities deliver stable returns.
June 5, 2006... Exposure to domestic equities over the past three years has provided investors with strong and stable returns, according to the latest study carried out by Financial Express. While the analysis reveals that funds investing in European and...

Fund Manager's Diary: 23-30 May 2006.
June 5, 2006... Tuesday After yesterday afternoon's UK equity market sell-off I am rather nervous about switching on my screens this morning. However, my fears are unfounded as things seem more stable. The sentiment in credit markets is rather more...

COMMENT: Today's ethics a threat to progress.
June 12, 2006... There is no doubt that ethical investment has become mainstream over the years. Unfortunately, the conception of ethics that it embodies denigrates our humanity. To understand this point it is necessary to start by examining what is...

Merrill Lynch board appoints Invesco.
June 12, 2006... The board of the #125m Merrill Lynch Asset Allocator investment trust has named Invesco Perpetual as its new manager. The appointment, which took effect last week, will be followed by a proposed restructuring of the trust, subject to...

Fidelity considers options for drawdown.
June 12, 2006... Fidelity is planning to develop post-retirement drawdown investment products for investors who do not want to buy an annuity immediately. This follows the onset of A-day, since when investors have no longer had to buy an annuity as soon as they...

IN BRIEF: Pictet launches global fund.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Pictet Asset Management, the institutional asset management arm of Pictet & Cie, has launched the PF Absolute Return Global Diversified fund. The fund aims to generate a positive absolute return equal or superior to the Euro Over Night Index...

IN BRIEF: Skandia reveals fund line-up.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Skandia has named the remaining managers for its Global Best Ideas fund. Joining Artemis's Mark Tyndall and New Star's Stephen Whittaker on the UK side are MLIM's Richard Plackett, Gartmore's Ashley Willing and Axa Framlington's Roger...

IN BRIEF: Insight promotes investment chief.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Insight Investment has announced the appointment of Abdallah Nauphal, its chief investment officer, as deputy chief executive, in addition to his current responsibilities. Nauphal will lead the development of the firm's strategic business...

IN BRIEF: Close High's D share set to close.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... The D share issue of Close High Income Properties is to close on June 30. A target yield of 6.5 pence per share is being offered and reservations for more than #20m have so far been received. CHIP's D shares are suitable for Self-invested...

IN BRIEF: ECB increases key interest rate.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... The European Central Bank raised its key interest rate by a quarter point to 2.75% at its meeting last week. The rate on the marginal lending facility will be increased by a quarter point to 3.75% and the rate on the deposit facility will be...

Departures at Jupiter and Threadneedle.
June 12, 2006... Threadneedle and Jupiter have announced senior departures from their respective sales teams. Guy Beech, director of wholesale and retail sales, has left Threadneedle after 10 years at the firm. Meanwhile, Jon Brokenshire, director of asset...

Independent broker buys Berkeley Fund Managers.
June 12, 2006... Goy Harris Cartwright, an independent stockbroker and investment manager, has acquired Coventry-based Berkeley Fund Managers. BFM, which has nine employees, has about #100m in funds under management. It is best known for its three Oeic...

Henderson Pacific fund gearing to reap benefits of Asian markets.
June 12, 2006... Andy Beal, manager of the #179m Henderson TR Pacific Investment Trust, is planning to be fully geared by the end of the summer to take advantage of the current volatility in Asian markets. From April the trust has had a net cash position,...

IN BRIEF: F&C hires director of private equity.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... F&C Asset Management has appointed Richard Nairn as associate director, private equity funds. Nairn, who joins the Edinburgh-based F&C team from Intelli Corporate Finance, initially trained as a chartered accountant with...

IN BRIEF: FundsNetwork to offer more funds.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... FundsNetwork has announced plans to expand the fund choice linked to its onshore investment bond, provided by Standard Life. Six new property funds - M&G Property Portfolio, Resolution UK Property, Schroder Global Property Securities, Standard...

IN BRIEF: Correction.(Correction notice)(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Last week's Fund Strategy wrongly reported that Hargreaves Lansdown had taken the Gartmore China Opportunities fund off its recommended buy list following the impending departure of Philip Ehrmann as manager. The fund was not on the...

Kerr overhauls New Star's US fund.
June 12, 2006... Greg Kerr has made significant changes to New Star's #10m North American fund. While he officially took over the portfolio last month, Kerr has effectively run the fund since he joined the firm from M&G in January. "I am looking to take...

Resolution set to take over Abbey life business.
June 12, 2006... Resolution Asset Management will acquire the British and offshore life insurance businesses of Abbey National, subject to approval by the Financial Services Authority. The move marks the firm's entry into the life insurance new business...

T Bailey fund leaps to second-quartile after sale of poor performer.
June 12, 2006... The T Bailey Equity Income fund has jumped from fourth to second- quartile over the 12 months to May 31, according to Standard & Poor's. Over that period, the fund of funds returned 20.7% compared with 19.4% for the IMA UK Equity Income...

IN BRIEF: PSigma appoints investment chief.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... PSigma Investment Management has appointed Seton Craven as an investment director. Craven joins PSigma from HSBC, where he managed a team of 22. He has more than 20 years' industry experience, having previously worked for Sheppards and Chase,...

Fears of rising interest rates spark falls across markets.
June 12, 2006... Markets suffered a painful time last week, with many experiencing their largest one-day falls in years. Emerging markets had many of the worst drops, with mainland China falling 5% on Wednesday alone. India, Russia, Taiwan and Turkey are...

F&C hires Woodward as deputy head.
June 12, 2006... Mike Woodward, head of investment trusts at Martin Currie, is to leave the group to join F&C Asset Management as deputy head of investment trusts. Woodward replaces Gordon Humphries, who is to join Standard Life Investments this summer (Fund...

Review reveals FTSE winners and losers.
June 12, 2006... Three companies will be promoted to the FTSE 100 and three relegated to the FTSE 250 following the latest FTSE quarterly review. Vedanta Resources and Lonmin, both mining companies, join the list of Britain's largest companies, alongside...

IN BRIEF: EISs to become more popular.(Brief article)
June 12, 2006... Noble Fund Managers says Enterprise Investment Schemes will become more popular among investors following the Budget changes. IFAs have usually viewed EISs as high risk, says the firm. But while venture capital trusts offer a higher rate of...

China fund performance fails to live up to the hype.
June 12, 2006... Funds investing in China have come under the spotlight in the past couple of weeks. Two weeks ago (Fund Strategy, June 5) both Gartmore and Fidelity announced changes to the managers of their respective Chinese portfolios. Gartmore...

Cross-sectional volatility is the key.
June 12, 2006... Last month's downturn saw volatility return after three years of increasing stability, but the overall volatility trend remains downwards - which may not be good news for active managers. With global markets falling sharply in recent...

STRATEGY: Boring equities are the best option.
June 12, 2006... As a period of accelerating growth and inflation comes to an end, relatively safe developed world economies look a better place to invest than emerging markets, where risk premia have vanished The global economy has been expanding at a...

Q&A: Deutsche bank focuses on capital protection.(Interview)
June 12, 2006... Sam Forster, director and head of retail at Deutsche Bank, answers this week's questions from Adam Lewis. Q: Deutsche Bank recently announced the impending launch of two capital protected products investing in the Far East (Fund Strategy,...

FEATURE: Going green.
June 12, 2006... Ethical investing has come a long way since the first Ethical investing has come a long way since the first "green" funds were launched in the 1980s, in line with growing interest in issues such as global warming. But can such funds really...

FEATURE: IFA picks.
June 12, 2006... Geoff Griffiths, Barchester Green F&C Stewardship "It is the classic, the model on which all others are based, but only to a timid 'light green' effect. It is sane, offering a good balance of reactive and proactive criteria. It has also...

CHANNELS: Wise approach aims to treat customers fairly.(Company overview)
June 12, 2006... Tony Yarrow, managing director of Wise Investment, answers this week's questions from Will Jackson. Q: What is the history of Wise Investment? A: I started the Chipping Norton office, with an assistant, in 1992. In 1997 we set up a...

ANALYSIS: US base is strong despite wobbles.
June 12, 2006... Terry Ewing of Old Mutual refutes the idea that the American economy is on a downward trajectory and says industrials and financials are a robust and attractive option for investors. America has rarely been so unfashionable. A falling...

FOCUS: Tilney leaves it to the individual.
June 12, 2006... Tilney Investment Management has no overall house style for its funds. Instead, it encourages managers to develop their individual strengths in running portfolios. Frances Hughes reports. Tilney Investment Management has embraced several...

FoFs: iimia Accelerated thrives on caution.
June 12, 2006... Following the celebration of its third anniversary in April, iimia's Accelerated fund has taken first place in the three-year performance table (funds of funds only). The fund returned more than 100% in the period ending June 5, according to...

Fund Manager's Diary: 21-26 May 2006.
June 12, 2006... Sunday It is hot and sultry in Mumbai. The aeroplane has to circle above the airport for an hour, 15th in line for a landing slot at the city's dilapidated airport. It is an example of how India's underdeveloped infrastructure constrains the...

COMMENT: Price fluctuations are merely a symptom.
June 19, 2006... It is difficult to suppress a wry smile in response to the recent outpourings of concern about inflation. Of course, investors hit by large losses as a result of plummeting markets are unlikely to find it amusing. But from a longer-term...

Insight to close three multi-managers.
June 19, 2006... Insight is closing three multi-manager funds and one retail cash fund because, according to the group, they did not offer best value to clients. Brett Greatrex, head of products and marketing at Insight, says the small size of the Insight...

Callaghan rescinds notice to stay at Gartmore.
June 19, 2006... Tim Callaghan, manager of the #60m Gartmore European Focus fund, is staying at the group after all. Gartmore has reportedly provided him with substantial incentives to stay with the group rather than follow his plain to join Resolution...

Morley and Barclays Capital flesh out plans for global income funds.
June 19, 2006... Morley Fund Management and Barclays Capital have provided more details of the two global income funds they are launching on July 3. The Global Cautious Income and Global Balanced Income funds, managed by Morley and distributed by Barclays,...

IN BRIEF: New Star opens Tri-Star fund.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... New Star's Tri-Star unit trust is now available for investment, with an offer period that runs until June 30. A 1% discount to the 5% initial charge applies on all lump sum investments made during this period. The offer price is 50p. The...

IN BRIEF: FundsLibrary goes online.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... FundsLibrary, a website providing professional investors with access to fund management group literature, has been launched. The site initially provides documents including group-compiled factsheets, simplified prospectuses and reports and...

IN BRIEF: Isosceles America fund liquidated.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Isosceles has announced the liquidation of its America fund, with effect from June 9. The voluntary action follows a strategic review in the wake of a $30m (#16m) withdrawal from the fund by a client exiting American large and mid-cap assets....

IN BRIEF: Jupiter widens unit trust access.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Jupiter is making six of its unit trusts available through Jersey-based feeder funds. The funds will enable investors who are not domiciled or resident in Britain to access the firm's portfolios for the first time. Income Trust, Financial...

IN BRIEF: Capita set to buy Sinclair Henderson.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Capita Financial has agreed to buy Sinclair Henderson, an Exeter-based group providing fund administration services, from iimia. In addition to a cash payment of #10.5m, the consideration is subject to a pound- for-pound adjustment, based on...

IN BRIEF: Skandia poised to allow pegs to AFI.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Skandia is to become the first wrap provider to allow advisers to benchmark their clients' portfolios against the Adviser Fund Index. Intermediaries will be able to compare the performance of funds against the Aggressive, Balanced and Cautious...

Skandia Best Ideas beats expectations.
June 19, 2006... Skandia Investment management, the separate asset manager of the Skandia Group, is reporting stronger than expected sales flows into its Global Best Ideas fund, which was launched last week. While the group would not comment on how much has...

S&P downgrades Threadneedle Latin American.
June 19, 2006... Threadneedle's Latin America fund has been downgraded from an AA rating to an A by Standard & Poor's. The move comes after concerns about the gradual withdrawal of former manager Dominic Rossi from stock analysis, and its declining...

WestLB launches high income plan with 100% capital protection.
June 19, 2006... WestLB has unveiled its Capital Protected High Income Plan One. The plan offers 100% capital protection and 7% fixed annual income in the first three years. "We have had success with similar products on the continent," says Patricia...

IN BRIEF: CMH set to unveil activist value fund.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Capital Management Holdings is launching its Absolute Activist Value fund on July 1, 2006. The fund, which will invest in European companies, will take a purely activist approach rather than being a passive shareholder. The aim of the fund is...

L&G warns investors against backing commodities.
June 19, 2006... Legal & General Investment Management has warned investors that the recent falls in commodity prices, which had risen strongly since 2004, do not represent a buying opportunity. Julien Garran, head of asset allocation at LGIM, last week...

IN BRIEF: Abbey appoints business head.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Abbey Financial Markets has appointed Gary Dale as head of business development for its UK and offshore IFA, private banking and partnership channels. Dale, who reports to Trevor Taylor, head of business development, Europe, will be responsible...

IN BRIEF: Jupiter appoints retail director.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... Jupiter has appointed Simon Hynes as director of retail distribution. Hynes, who joined Jupiter from F&C in April 2002, previously worked as director of the firm's strategic alliances team. In his new role, he will also take responsibility...

IN BRIEF: JP Morgan names European chief.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... JP Morgan Asset Management has appointed Leslie McKay as head of product development for Europe. McKay, who graduated in economics and politics from Queens University in Canada, joins the firm from American Express. She takes over from Adam...

IN BRIEF: JOHCM appoints manager for south.(Brief article)
June 19, 2006... JO Hambro Capital Management has appointed Jonathan Woolley as regional sales manager for the south of England. Woolley will join the firm on June 26, with responsibility for growing the firm's links with intermediaries. He arrives at JOHCM...

Markets rally as inflation fears ease.
June 19, 2006... Markets rallied towards the end of last week after fears about inflation began to calm. Although investors still appear nervous, the authorities are reassuring them that inflationary dangers may not be as great as some fear. Ben Bernanke,...

Green targets bring new investment opportunities.
June 19, 2006... With government targets aiming to increase recycling and the use of renewable energy, fund managers are looking to capitalise on newly arising opportunities. Charlie Thomas, fund manager of the Jupiter Ecology fund and recently launched...

Study probes "carbon footprint" of UK funds.
June 19, 2006... Trucost, an environmental research company, has released its first six- monthly report, ranking the "carbon footprints" of British investment funds. According to the firm, it is the first time investors have been able to compare funds on an...

Use of covered call options to enhance yield grows.
June 19, 2006... The launch of income funds is nothing new. However, the way groups are seeking to achieve an annual income yield is starting to change. Last November, Schroders launched its Income Maximiser fund, which targets a 7% yield by investing in a...

TRENDS: No place to hide from global correction.
June 19, 2006... Fund performance was down across all IMA equity sectors following the stockmarket falls in May, and investors should be prepared for lower returns throughout the summer months. May's fund performance - or rather, lack thereof - may have...