Fund Strategy articles from March 2008

Fund Strategy archives from March 2008

COMMENT: The spirit of Malthus best left in grave.
March 3, 2008... Thomas Malthus, who more than anyone else popularised the idea that population grows faster than food supply, died in 1834. It is a tragedy that so many people now seem intent on resurrecting his ideas. When Malthus first published "An...

'Class act' quits Axa Framlington.
March 3, 2008... Roger Whiteoak, manager of the #154m Axa Framlington UK Smaller Companies fund, has resigned from the group. Whiteoak, who also ran the Throgmorton investment trust, was replaced on both funds by Chris St John, the deputy manager on both....

Morley brand to be ditched in Aviva shake-up.
March 3, 2008... From September the Morley Fund Management brand will disappear. This follows the decision by its parent company, Aviva, to combine all its global asset management businesses into one single integrated unit, to be called Aviva Investors. ...

Principal aims to boost assets with new funds.
March 3, 2008... Principal Global Investors plans to expand its range of Irish unit trusts, with global 130/30 and Indian equity portfolios. The launches, which are subject to regulatory approval, are part of a drive to double assets in the firm's...

IN BRIEF: Castlestone plans agriculture fund.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Castlestone Management plans to launch an agriculture fund on March 31. The Aliquot Agriculture Fund will be an actively managed portfolio investing in agriculture, alternative energy and water assets. It will waive a conventional management...

IN BRIEF: Chase de Vere departures.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Anna Bowes, head of public relations and investments manager, has left Chase de Vere. This follows the IFA firm's decision to outsource its public relation functions to Polhill Communications as part of the refocusing of its marketing...

IN BRIEF: Schroders gains marketing head.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Peter Beckett, the head of UK marketing at UBS, is to leave the group to join Schroders. Beckett, who joins next week, will assume the role of head of continental European marketing, reporting to James Cardew, head of marketing UK and...

M&G launches European Special Sits.
March 3, 2008... M&G has launched European Special Situations and European Strategic Value funds, run by Michael Stiasny and Richard Halle respectively. The firm has also promoted Jonathan Willcocks to the newly-created role of managing director of global...

Lazard appoints leader for continental Europe.
March 3, 2008... Aaron Barnfather, former European manager at Newton, has become the lead manager for Lazard Asset Management's continental European equities strategy. This includes the running of the onshore Lazard European Alpha fund and the...

F&C unveils plan for 'unique' closed-end investment trust.
March 3, 2008... F&C has announced plans to launch a closed-end investment trust in April. The F&C Managed Portfolio trust will be managed by Peter Hewitt, who heads the F&C Progressive Growth fund and is part of the global equities team that runs the...

IN BRIEF: GAM launches diversified hedge.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... GAM has added to its fund of hedge funds range, with the launch of GAM Multi-Diversified LV. Managed by David Smith, chief investment director for GAM multi-manager, the fund is managed in the same style and underlying strategies as GAM...

IN BRIEF: ETF Securities lists short ETCs.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... ETF Securities listed 29 short exchange traded commodities on the London Stock Exchange last week. The ETCs allow investors to benefit from falling prices as they earn minus one times the daily percentage change in the Dow Jones AIG Commodities...

Investors continue to shun equities.
March 3, 2008... Investors continued their cautious approach and shunned equities for bonds as markets showed little sign of calming in January, according to the latest Investment Management Association (IMA) statistics. The high outflow figures from...

Swip to exploit increase in European dividends.
March 3, 2008... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip) has launched its European Income fund. The fund, managed by Steven Maxwell, head of European equities at Swip, will seek to take advantage of the increase in dividend payments in European...

Insight adds livestock to diversified range.
March 3, 2008... Insight has added livestock to its Diversified range of multi-manager funds. Patrick Armstrong and Ana Munro, co-heads of multi-manager at Insight, have invested in the MLIM Livestock structured product and are looking to invest also in a...

IN BRIEF: Syndicate agrees to acquisition.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Syndicate Asset Management, the parent company of Rowan & Co Capital Management, has announced that it has agreed final terms to acquire Burfield & Partners Asset Management. The new business, an investment- oriented IFA working from offices...

IN BRIEF: Custard scoops peachy role at UBS.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... Curt Custard joins UBS Global Asset Management as head of global investment solutions this week. Custard will be based in London and will report to John A Fraser, chairman and chief executive officer of UBS Global Asset Management. He was...

IN BRIEF: Firm shuffles staff on retail team.(Brief article)
March 3, 2008... BlackRock Investment Management has announced two changes to their UK retail team. Mark Elliott, who joined the company in 2004, moves from leading the company's regional sales team to become director of Strategic Alliances, which manages...

Crunch to hit Britain's GDP growth.
March 3, 2008... The credit crunch is likely to knock at least one percentage point off Britain's GDP growth, according to a study by Capital Economics, an economic consultancy.* Vicky Redwood, a UK economist at the firm, estimates that even the narrower...

Bernanke's mixed messages prompt dollar fall.
March 3, 2008... Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, sent out mixed messages in his monetary policy report to Congress last week that drove the dollar down to record lows against the euro. During the address Bernanke spoke of the continuing...

Thames River board considers C share of #255.5m hedge fund.
March 3, 2008... The board of Thames River Multi Hedge PCC (protected cell company) is to consider another C share issue of the Thames River Hedge+, which launched four years ago. If approved, the issue is likely to take place either at the end of May or at...

Agricultural sector boom hits poor as food prices soar.
March 3, 2008... While Borat enjoyed mocking America, last week's news from that comedy character's "home" country, Kazakhstan, was far from a joke. The price of wheat being exported from Kazakhstan, one of the world's largest exporters of the grain, rose...

Rise in investment vehicles for agricultural commodities.
March 3, 2008... There is a small but rapidly growing number of vehicles for retail investors to invest in agricultural commodities. These range from conventional open-ended funds to exchange traded funds (ETFs) and structured products. The CF Eclectica...

STRATEGY: Strong growth puts brazil in top tier.
March 3, 2008... Strong fiscal policies and political stability encouraged economic growth and with demand for commodities set to intensify, Brazil offers myriad opportunities for the experienced investor. With a market capitalisation of $460 billion (#230...

TRENDS: Safety net promises growth at a cost.
March 3, 2008... The quest for capital growth spawned a market for cautious investment - and structured, or capital protection products, are well-established - even though the safety net comes at a price. The downturn in equity markets at the beginning of...

Q&A: Invesco scours europe for fresh opportunities.(Interview)
March 3, 2008... Adrian Bignell, fund manager at Invesco Perpetual, answers this week's questions from Adam Lewis. Q. What was the rationale for launching the European Opportunities fund? A. I joined Invesco four years ago from Cazenove and over that...

ON THE DEFENCE: Tough line.
March 3, 2008... Nervous investors hunker down as global market volatility kicks in and those who have not sold seek refuge in the Cautious Managed sector. But is it too early in the economic cycle to take this defensive stance? Adam Lewis reports. In...

ON THE DEFENCE: Investor confidence.
March 3, 2008... Much of the reason attributed to the growth in popularity of the Cautious Managed sector is a rise in risk aversion among retail investors. However, the most recent Investor Confidence Index, compiled by Hargreaves Lansdown, showed that...

ON THE DEFENCE: Bonds and equities versus cash.
March 3, 2008... According to the Barclays Equity Gilt Study 2008, in 2007 the best performing asset class in Britain was cash. This was the first time real cash returns had outperformed all other asset classes since 2001. The survey noted that cash...

ANALYSIS: Buy British? Not this global player.
March 3, 2008... Mark Urquhart, manager of Edinburgh Worldwide, who sold out of his last British stock in the middle of last year, explains why he has focused on some surprising emerging market buys. If you were running a roam-anywhere global investment...

CHANNELS: Adviser enterprise well equipped for spin-off.
March 3, 2008... Shane Balkham, investment manager of Equip Portfolios, is interviewed by Neal Underwood. Q: What is the history of your company? A: I set up the business in 2001 with my business partner, Andrew Bennett. We were directly regulated by...

AFI: A step too far for high conviction?
March 3, 2008... Terms such as "quite attractive" and "flamboyant" show how divided are advisers' views on Skandia's best ideas model, in which stocks are selected by fund managers of different groups. As Skandia looks to increase its best ideas fund range,...

FoFs: Results fail to spoil long-term goal.
March 3, 2008... F&C Cautious Managed posted disappointing 12-month results in the wake of market volatility - but Richard Philbin, head of fund of funds, says tight risk controls will pay off in the long run. Launched in 2004, F&C Cautious Managed...

FOCUS: Premier owners build for the future.
March 3, 2008... Six months on from a management buyout, Premier Asset Management is attracting talent as it pursues a long-term plan with the backing of a private equity group. Will Jackson reports. The share prices of many quoted fund managers have been...

Fund Manager's Diary: 15-21 February 2008.
March 3, 2008... Friday Woken up at 6.50am by my daughter Holly who wants to play - not with me but with Isobel and Joseph, the children of friends who arrived from Yorkshire at 10pm yesterday. Have slight feeling I could have drunk less wine last night....

COMMENT: Unbalanced system cannot be sustained.
March 10, 2008... The report on capital flows from the Institute of International Finance paints a fascinating picture. In broad terms it shows private Western institutions investing heavily in emerging economies and public emerging institutions shifting even...

Resolution plans American 130/30.
March 10, 2008... Resolution Asset Management (RAM) is planning a third quarter launch of an American Equity 130/30 fund. The fund will be managed by Terry Ewing, who rejoined the group in February last year from Old Mutual and co-manages the long-only #120m...

New recruits prompt launches at Seven Dials.
March 10, 2008... Seven Dials Fund Management (SDFM) is to launch a range of direct property funds as well as a fund investing in property shares. The move follows the addition of Mickola Wilson and Darren Fennell to the management team of the group. Wilson...

HSBC unveils long-only small emerging markets.
March 10, 2008... HSBC has launched a long-only, unconstrained New Frontier fund, which is aimed at smaller emerging market economies. The fund is managed by Andrea Nannini who joined Halbis, the active investment management specialist of the HSBC group, in...

IN BRIEF: Confidence index reveals new low.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... The Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index for February shows confidence levels among consumers at their lowest since Nationwide started the index in 2004. Just 11% of respondents said they were confident that it was a good idea to make large...

IN BRIEF: Board votes to acquire Midas.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... All resolutions to facilitate the acquisition of Midas Capital Partners by iimia MitonOptimal (iMO) were passed at a general meeting of the company last week. The move completes iMO's purchase of Midas, a Liverpool-based fund management...

Three quit from team bought by Aberdeen.
March 10, 2008... Three members of the Glasgow Investment Managers team acquired by Aberdeen in August 2007 have resigned. Iain Lynn, Martin Brown and Craig Yeomon have all left, leaving just Susan Anderson, from the four who joined following Aberdeen's...

Firm set to unveil European equity.
March 10, 2008... Standard Life Investments (SLI) is set to launch a European Equity Unconstrained fund. This follows the repositioning last month of its American Equity Growth fund to a similar mandate. As reported in Fund Strategy last month (February 18,...

Bell starts as Butler departs #642m Newton fund.
March 10, 2008... Paul Butler, manager of the #642m Newton International Growth fund, has left Newton to focus on other interests. Jon Bell, who has worked at the group for 12 years, replaces him as lead manager on the fund and assumes responsibility for...

IN BRIEF: Bank of England resists rate cut.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... The Bank of England's monetary policy committee held interest rates at 5.25% last week. In contrast with America's Federal Reserve the Bank has resisted large-scale rate cuts as inflationary concerns have forced caution in using them to...

Elections bolster economy and lure investors back.
March 10, 2008... Signs of a recovery in the Thai market has prompted investors to renew their interest in the country. Thailand, where a military-backed junta took control in a coup in September 2006, held its long awaited parliamentary elections on...

Trust cuts exposure to UK equities.
March 10, 2008... The #550m Bankers Investment Trust managed by Alex Crooke, has reduced its exposure to British equities from 55% to 49% in the past two months. It hopes to further reduce its exposure to 40%. As well as reducing exposure to Britain, Crooke...

M&G reshuffles staff on Asian portfolio.
March 10, 2008... Aled Smith has stepped down from his role as lead manager on the M&G Asian fund. Michael Godfrey and Matthew Vaight, both members of the firm's global equity team, have been promoted to co-manage the #240m portfolio. Smith, who...

IN BRIEF: BlackRock reveals staff.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... BlackRock has confirmed the fund manager roles in its European equities team. Nigel Bolton, previously head of European equities at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, will manage the offshore MLIIF (Merrill Lynch International...

IN BRIEF: Group enhances commission.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Threadneedle has enhanced the commission on its UK Equity Income, UK Equity Alpha Income, and UK Select funds to 3.75% when bought through selected fund supermarkets. To take advantage of the offer investors need to buy into the funds...

Capital flows to emerging countries 'to remain strong'.
March 10, 2008... Private capital flows to emerging markets are likely to remain strong, partly thanks to the turmoil in developed markets. A study by the Institute of International Finance (IIF), which represents the world's largest financial institutions,...

F&C return to profit beats estimates.
March 10, 2008... F&C Asset Management made pre-tax profits of #25.9 million in 2007, compared with a loss of #30.5m in 2006. The company has also reported performance-related fees up 119% to #20.8m. The news bolstered F&C's share price as the firm beat...

Santander appoints managers for Japan.
March 10, 2008... Santander has appointed two managers to run its Japanese funds. The company picked CPR Asset Management, part of the Credit Agricole Group, and the DIAM Group to manage the funds. CPR was was chosen because of its expertise in active fund...

IN BRIEF: Communications head appointed.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... Artemis has appointed Ross Leckie director of investment communications. His role will be to improve overall communications with clients as well as with the industry as a whole. He will provide content for the twice-yearly "Investor Focus" and...

IN BRIEF: Opec maintains steady flow.(Brief article)
March 10, 2008... The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec) decided to keep production rates steady last week. The move comes despite pressure from America to increase supply after the week saw oil prices flirting with the $106 mark. Oil...

New Star and Intrinsic poised to launch joint multi-manager funds.
March 10, 2008... New Star has announced plans to team up with Intrinsic Financial Services to launch a range of multi-manager funds. The funds will invest in a variety of investment vehicles including Oeics, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds to...

Experts predict imminent recession.
March 10, 2008... Lombard Street Research, an economic consultancy, says that a recession in Japan is likely in the first half of 2008. The prediction is based on a recession being defined as two consecutive quarters of falling output and was made after...

Market falls highlights needs for transparency.
March 10, 2008... Recent falls in global markets have underlined the importance of transparency and a proper explanation of the risks investors are exposed to. This is one of the points made by the Fitch Ratings' Fund and Asset Management Group in a recent...

Chong's legacy leaves Aberdeen with strong template.
March 10, 2008... Last week it was announced that after nearly five and half years, Chou Chong, head of pan-European equities at Aberdeen, was stepping down. This follows the Malaysian's decision to return to Singapore, where he started as fund manager...

STRATEGY: Divergent paths may hold surprises.
March 10, 2008... America's aggressive response to the worsening financial and economic situation could prompt a recovery to normal growth levels - even to the point where the country outperforms Europe. In the end it was little surprise the Federal...

TRENDS: Choose magical managers with care.
March 10, 2008... The quest for alpha has prompted a rise in Net 100 products - long equity funds with extra magic. But these complex tools require skill so investors must choose the firm and manager with care. A new breed of mutual fund is competing for...

Q&A: F&C hones structure with trust launch.(Interview)
March 10, 2008... Peter Hewitt, manager of Progressive Growth Oeic and planned investment trust, talks to Will Jackson. Q. F&C has announced plans to roll over its managed investment trust share portfolio services into the F&C Managed Portfolio trust. Why...

STRONG POSITION: Forge ahead.
March 10, 2008... Investors welcomed the election of Dmitry Medvedev as president of a country enjoying healthy growth - despite the global slowdown. Tomas Hirst examines why fund managers are eager to ride on the coat-tails of Russia's economic boom. In...

ANALYSIS: Firm chases gold in race for results.
March 10, 2008... Catherine Raw, co-manager of Merrill Lynch Gold & General, says investors are well advised to covet shares in the commodity, which have outperformed record-breaking gold prices. Gold prices have broken new records, coming close to $1,000 an...

CHANNELS: AWD chases long-term goal with new platform.
March 10, 2008... Mike Kirsch, the UK group chief executive of AWD Chase de Vere, is questioned by Simon Hildrey. Q. Has the acquisition of Chase de Vere by AWD in 2005 proved a success? A. We are pleased with the progress since AWD acquired Chase de...

AFI: New rules to boost growth of hedges.
March 10, 2008... Hedge funds offer downside protection and more managers seek exposure to them - and the funds of alternative investment funds rules, effective in 2009, will further boost investor confidence. As reported in Fund Strategy two weeks ago, the...

FoFs: A short answer to volatility in Asia.
March 10, 2008... Robert Jeffree, the manager of the New Star Asia fund, has pursued growth by hedging the fund's Chinese exposure through investments that aim to short the Xinhua 25 index. The New Star Asia portfolio has changed manager this year. As Fund...

FOCUS: Funds with a 'twist' await rebrand.
March 10, 2008... Resolution Asset Management, which ended last year with a fourth boutique added to its stable, and a prospective new parent, aims to be a top-five retail player. Adam Lewis reports. Last year proved to be eventful for Resolution Asset...

Fund Manager's Diary: 24-29 February 2008.
March 10, 2008... Sunday Miss Spurs playing Chelsea just to fly to Edinburgh to begin a week of Africa Invest engagements. However, my daughter Harriet is on a girls' weekend in Edinburgh, so she and five friends join me for drinks. Hit the sack at 1am having...

COMMENT: Skewed market view is based on myths.
March 17, 2008... "It's them foreigners what are to blame". That, in crude terms, seems to be New Labour's take on the recent problems in the global markets. In particular Americans, more specifically poor Americans, are targeted because of their allegedly...

Fresh ructions fuel recession fears.
March 17, 2008... Even by the standards of the credit crunch last week was eventful. Gold and oil prices hit all-time highs. The dollar hit an all-time low against the euro and fell below the Y100 threshold for the first time in years. Carlyle Capital, a...

Fidelity seeks approval to widen market for funds.
March 17, 2008... Fidelity is to bring its Fast fund range to a wider investment market, subject to regulatory approval by the Financial Services Authority. Until now the funds have only been available to a limited number of professional investors. ...

Premier renames US emerging growth fund to reflect investments.
March 17, 2008... The $30m (#14.7m) Premier RENN US Emerging Growth fund is changing its name to Premier RENN Entrepreneurs Emerging Growth. The change is intended to reflect more accurately the increasing number of investments in the fund from outside...

IN BRIEF: Axa hires new face for biotech.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Axa Framlington has appointed Andy Smith to run the Axa Framlington Biotech Fund. He joins Axa's healthcare team from SV Life Sciences where he managed the $203m (#100m) International Biotechnology Trust. Smith has previously worked as manager...

IN BRIEF: Eaglet appoints investment head.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... The board of the Eaglet investment trust has appointed Knox D'Arcy as the fund's investment manager. The appointment ends the battle for control of the #100m trust, which started with the resignation of Peter Webb from Eaglet's board last...

Baillie Gifford fund downgraded after manager change.
March 17, 2008... Old Broad Street Research (OBSR) has downgraded the rating of the #86m Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond fund from AAA status to AA. The downgrade follows a meeting with the new manager of the fund, Ben Thompson, and its former manager, Ken...

Skandia picks manager with 'cracking approach'.
March 17, 2008... Skandia Investment Management (SIML) has awarded Roger Whiteoak's Skandia Global Best Ideas and UK Best Ideas fund mandates to Dan Hanbury. Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has also announced the manager line-up for its European Best Ideas...

IN BRIEF: Lyxor unveils three ETFs.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Lyxor Asset Management, a subsidiary of Societe Generale, announced the launch of four exchange traded funds (ETFs). Three of them will track American stocks with the fourth providing access to the MSCI World index. The new ETFs offer the...

Longest-serving fund manager dies, aged 79.
March 17, 2008... Nils Taube, founder of Nils Taube Investments (NTI) and long-term serving fund manager, died last week. At the age of 79, he was Britain's longest-serving fund manager. In a career that spanned more than 60 years, Taube managed both...

Emerging markets boost F&C trust.
March 17, 2008... An increased exposure to Asia and emerging markets and a reduced exposure to British and European equities, led to strong performance for the Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust last year. According to Jeremy Tigue, manager of the #2.5...

Darling's moves put business community at ease.
March 17, 2008... Alistair Darling's first Budget contained few surprises, much to the relief of the business community still reeling from the effects of the credit crunch. Among the few items of note was an increase in the tax relief threshold for...

IN BRIEF: Product launches by Dawnay Day.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Dawnay Day Quantum has announced the launch of three capital-protected investment vehicles offering exposure to commodities. The new products offer different portfolios: one comprises wholly agricultural commodities; the other is diversified...

IN BRIEF: Newton fund loses A rating.(Brief article)
March 17, 2008... Old Broad Street Research (OBSR) has suspended its A rating for the Newton International Growth Fund. The decision comes after Paul Butler, the fund's manager, left Newton, as reported in Fund Strategy (March 10). OBSR says it plans to meet...

Banks take action to boost liquidity.
March 17, 2008... America's Federal Reserve announced a $236 billion (#116 billion) lending program to boost liquidity last week. The bank's latest move brings the value of its stimulus packages to more than $400 billion. Earlier measures announced on...