Fund Strategy articles from March 2009

Fund Strategy archives from March 2009

COMMENT: Is old becoming the new economic trend?
March 2, 2009... Daniel Ben-Ami, Editor It is becoming increasingly common for commentators to overestimate the newness of key economic trends. A striking example is the tendency to regard key problems in the American and British economies as new. It...

Barings revamps US Plus Bond fund.
March 2, 2009... Baring Asset Management plans to convert its $24.7m (#17.4m) Baring US Plus Bond fund to the Baring Global Aggregate Bond fund, subject to unit-holder approval. The group will expand the investment remit of the Dublin-based fund to...

Collins Stewart's UK Focus goes 'under repair'.
March 2, 2009... Collins Stewart is restructuring its most recently launched product, the UK Focus fund, following the manager's departure. The fund was developed for David Shapiro at the start of 2008 as a concentrated portfolio of 30 value stocks from...

Adviser warns clients off Templeton vehicle.
March 2, 2009... Hargreaves Lansdown has advised clients to switch their money out of Templeton Global Emerging Markets, blaming disappointing performance. The financial adviser firm says the fund's bias towards financials and the energy sector has hit...

IN BRIEF: New listed income fund.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Harewood Solutions has launched a listed income fund offering a yield up to 8% of the Net Asset Value (NAV) each year. The Enhanced Income fund was quoted on the London Stock Exchange last week. Yield is generated by dividends received on the...

IN BRIEF: Cazenove to open up hedge fund.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Cazenove hopes regulatory changes will allow it to bring its European Absolute Return Hedge fund to British investors towards the end of the year, says Chris Rice, its European fund manager. Initially the group said it would bring out a...

IN BRIEF: Plug pulled on offshore duo.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Henderson Global Investors is to close two of its offshore funds. The Horizon Pan European Bond fund closes this week and the Horizon Pan European Property Equities Alpha Plus fund on March 27. The group says the funds missed their performance...

Trusts' illiquidity is still a deterrent.
March 2, 2009... Multi-managers are still put off by the illiquidity of investment trusts despite a report that shows charges on closed-ended vehicles are falling. According to the Association of Investment Companies (AIC), the total expense ratios (TERs)...

UK vehicle joins Gartmore absolute return stable.
March 2, 2009... Gartmore is launching a UK Absolute Return fund only a few weeks after its European long/short product came to the market. The fund will be based on the group's Octanis hedge fund, which sits in the AlphaGen range, and will be run by the...

IN BRIEF: Bernanke's recipe for recovery.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... Ben Bernanke, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, says America must combine fiscal stimulus with strong government action to achieve economic recovery. Addressing Congress last week, he said: "If actions taken by the administration, the...

Managers head for the hedges as inflation threatens.
March 2, 2009... High-profile income managers are taking steps to hedge against inflation in the belief it will rise because of the Bank of England's quantitative easing measures. Tony Nutt, the manager of the #2.7 billion Jupiter Income Trust, expects...

Spectre of nationalisation over RBS.
March 2, 2009... The government has injected yet more capital into Britain's banks and is underwriting #325 billion of toxic assets held by Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), raising the spectre of nationalisation. The asset protection scheme announced in...

Corporate bonds still top seller, says IMA.
March 2, 2009... Bond funds had net retail inflows of #1.4 billion in January as investors piled into the asset class, according to the Investment Management Association (IMA). The IMA's # Corporate Bond sector accounted for 23% of gross retail sales in...

IN BRIEF: Modest fall in confidence.(Brief article)
March 2, 2009... The Investment Management Association (IMA)'s Great British Investor report showed only a modest drop in confidence since May 2008. There was a drop of seven points from 78 to 71 in the Investor Confidence Index. The index operates on a...

Recession-wise managers get into coffins and condoms.
March 2, 2009... Judging from the few companies in Britain to post positive news in recent weeks, you will be sitting down to a box of KFC as you read this, with Sky TV on in the background and a bar of Cadbury's and some cheap whisky to follow. You may also...

STRATEGY: Robust China brims with potential.
March 2, 2009... China's growth slows but with $2 trillion in foreign reserves and low public debt there are myriad chances for investors, especially in firms that have a stake in infrastructure projects. As the world's third-largest economy - recently...

TRENDS: Ethics and quality versus quantity.
March 2, 2009... Demand for ethical investing mushroomed - although it has been around for decades - and has become mainstream. But superior returns will not necessarily be the result of this strategy. Investing ethically - or socially responsible...

Q&A: Simple but decisive action for new star.(Interview)
March 2, 2009... Trevor Green, manager of the New Star UK Growth and UK Select Opportunities funds, talks to Adam Lewis. Q: You took over the UK Growth fund from Stephen Whittaker in November 2008. What changes have you made to the portfolio since then?...

GREEN HOPE: A green fix?
March 2, 2009... The global Green New Deal is being pitched as a solution to the twin crises of economic downturn and environmental emergency. But, asks Daniel Ben-Ami, is it really a recipe for austerity? If it was not environmentally incorrect to use the...

GREEN HOPE: Global growth of Green New Deals.
March 2, 2009... The idea of Green New Deal is not confided to American and Britain. On the contrary, it is being promoted by several national governments and influential international organizations. Perhaps the best known global advocates of a Green New...

ANALYSIS: Bankers' trust in the folks of Peoria.
March 2, 2009... Alex Crooke of Bankers Investment Trust is a contrarian who sees valuations becoming more realistic as confidence falls. He looks to America's housing market to spark the global revival. It cannot be the happiest prospect. Going to your...

INVESTMENT TRUSTS: Polar surfs high technology stocks.
March 2, 2009... Polar Capital reckons its search for internet, mobile phone and other IT companies will come up with good results as web based applications become more powerful in a resilient market. "Cloud computing" will be an increasingly important...

AFI: Still a strong case for defence.
March 2, 2009... Without more economic signals of an end to the downturn, risk aversion is still high among AFI panellists who say that confidence in banks is key to a prolonged recovery in equities. Despite tentative signs of optimism creeping into this...

FoFs: Eyeing up golden stars in Asia.
March 2, 2009... While still remaining defensive, Rob Jeffree is looking to the future and exploring opportunities in materials, small caps and Thailand that will perform well for the New Star Asia Portfolio. After taking an increasingly defensive stance...

FOCUS: Offshore operator on an asset hunt.
March 2, 2009... Collins Stewart's funds arm, based in the Channel Islands, manages #400m, mostly from its wealth management side. Now it is seeking links to broaden its business, writes Hannah Smith. Collins Stewart has ambitious plans to expand this...

Fund Manager's Diary: 2-8 February 2009.
March 2, 2009... Monday I went to bed in Guernsey and seem to have woken up somewhere in the Arctic Circle. Guernsey isn't used to dealing with a lot of snow, so I'm not sure how the island is going to cope. I have a feeling that the schools will be closed...

COMMENT: Ray of light as banks hang in the balance.
March 9, 2009... Will Jackson, features editor Banks, like Jade Goody, are rarely out of the headlines these days. And like the reality television star, their decline has transfixed the nation. Since the run on Northern Rock 18 months ago, topics that...

New Star managers wait on Henderson.
March 9, 2009... Henderson needs to act to ensure it retains key fund managers from New Star following the departure of Tim Steer last week, according to one of the managers involved. A source close to Henderson's acquisition of New Star says Henderson...

Ignis soft launches regional 130/30 portfolios.
March 9, 2009... Ignis has soft launched two 130/30 funds investing in American and Asian equities. The vehicles were seeded with Ignis money and will be launched to the wider market after a track record has been built. Ignis International North American...

IMA reveals Income & Growth line-up.
March 9, 2009... The Investment Management Association (IMA) has revealed the final list of funds in its new UK Equity Income and Growth sector. It has stripped out those funds from the UK Equity Income sector that failed to hit its target of 110% of the...

IN BRIEF: Frontier launches Balanced fund.(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Frontier Capital Management has launched an onshore version of its multi-asset fund to give access to Isa and onshore bond investors. The IFDS Frontier MAP Balanced fund invests passively across eight asset classes. David Cienfuegos has run the...

IN BRIEF: Warning on low-income countries.(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... The International Monetary Fund (IMF) expects the global financial crisis to have a major impact on low-income countries. The crisis is projected to increase the financing needs of low-income countries by at least $25 billion (#17.6 billion) in...

IN BRIEF: Aviva reports #1.3 billion loss.(Financial report)(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Aviva, the international insurance giant, made a pre-tax loss of #1.3 billion in 2008. The British branch of its fund management arm, Aviva Investors, lost #18m compared with #10m the previous year. The company said the British decline was...

IN BRIEF: Personal Assets Trust hires Troy.(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... The Personal Assets Trust (PAT) has appointed Troy Asset Management to run its investment portfolio. The move follows the death last autumn of Ian Rushbrook, who had run the company. Scottish-based PAT, which has #165m of funds under...

IN BRIEF: Rise in consumer confidence.(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Nationwide's consumer confidence index rose two points in February from 41 to 43, its first rise since October 2008. Confidence increased because of a growing optimism about future economic and labour market conditions, according to the...

Groups outline absolute return plans.
March 9, 2009... Aviva Investors and Threadneedle are the latest groups considering adding absolute return offerings to their fund ranges. Threadneedle is looking to build on its Ucits III capability, with a view to launching more absolute return vehicles...

Smith & Williamson hedges currency exposure.
March 9, 2009... Mark Pignatelli, manager of the Smith & Williamson European Growth Trust, has hedged the fund's currency exposure from euros into sterling. The fund has previously been unhedged. However, Pignatelli, who took over the #8.5m vehicle in...

Jupiter AM appoints Patrick Harrington.
March 9, 2009... Patrick Harrington is returning to the retail fund management industry and joining Jupiter Asset Management. He will take over the firm's #130m Undervalued Assets fund from Edward Bonham Carter. The move means Bonham Carter will no longer...

IN BRIEF: L&G launches Triple Index plan.(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Legal & General has launched a structured product that links to three indices and offers up to 20% growth. The return of the Capital Protected Triple Index Plan 1 depends on the performance of the FTSE 100, DJ Euro Stoxx 50 and S&P 500 indices...

Surprise at scale of Bank measures.
March 9, 2009... Last week's Monetary Policy Committee decision to cut the Bank of England base rate to 0.5% was overshadowed by a #75 billion cash injection into the British economy. The latter move heralds the start of the Bank's quantitative easing...

Trustnet launches alpha ratings service.
March 9, 2009... Trustnet is launching a ratings service identifying the fund managers who have generated the most alpha over an extended period. The quantitative-based Trustnet Alpha Manager Ratings service, which goes live next week, will focus only on...

SLI portfolios focus on market trends.
March 9, 2009... Standard Life Investments (SLI) is launching two funds this month to take advantage of market trends: UK Recovery and European Equity Income. The UK Recovery fund is the first retail product for David Cumming, the firm's head of UK...

Buyers go for gold bars as demand rises 64%.
March 9, 2009... Demand for gold rose by 64% in 2008, with most investors preferring physical gold such as bars or coins, according to the World Gold Council (WGC). European investors worried about inflation sought to diversify assets away from the...

IN BRIEF: Newton Japan manager replaced.(Brief article)
March 9, 2009... Bank of New York Mellon Asset Management has removed Neiloy Ghosh as manager of the Newton Japan fund after a period of underperformance. The fund fell 25.5% over the past year, compared with the Japan sector average fall of 16.7%, according...

ANALYSIS: Experts question speed of India's economic reform.
March 9, 2009... India said last week that it would hold its general election over April and May, in a poll set to encompass more than 700m voters. The country's slowing economy is expected to be a key battleground in a closely-fought campaign. GDP growth...

Identifying the winners from losers.
March 9, 2009... As credit spreads begin to narrow and consolidation is rife, investors would benefit from owning selected insurance companies whose portfolios have large exposure to non-government bonds. There is a thick fog of uncertainty on how the...

US equities start to lay foundations.
March 9, 2009... British fund managers are more likely to hoover up bargains, having suffered milder losses than their American colleagues, but this doesn't mean American equities are safe. America is an important investment component of most portfolios -...

Q&A: A world of opportunity to get real on dividends.(Interview)
March 9, 2009... Paul Boyne, the manager of the Invesco Global Equity Income fund, talks to Adam Lewis. Q: Last week marked the launch of the Global Equity Income fund. How easy is it to find dividend-paying companies right now? A: It is actually...

FEATURE: True cost of toxic assets.
March 9, 2009... To help clean up British financials, the government has launched an Asset Protection Scheme to secure banks from bad debts from past loans. But just how much will this cost the taxpayer, asks Abigail Montrose, and is it enough? British...

British Banking Crisis Timeline.(Chronology)
March 9, 2009... 2008 February 17 - Northern Rock is nationalised. April 22 - Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) announces a #12 billion rights issue. It also reveals a write-down of #5.9 billion on the value of its investments between April and June - the...

Asset Protection Scheme.
March 9, 2009... The Asset Protection Scheme is a government insurance scheme designed to clean up the balance sheets of banks. Operation Broom, as it is also know, enables banks to insure their most risky loans against potential losses. The government hopes...

ANALYSIS: Neptune looks up from the us deep.
March 9, 2009... Felix Wintle, the manager of Neptune US Opportunities, is convinced that America offers the best market in the world for investors at present and expects it to lead the way out of recession. Last Tuesday morning I picked up The Wall Street...

REVIEW: Taming the animal spirit inside of us.
March 9, 2009... The authors of Animal Spirits appear to be calling for a re-think of macroeconomic policy based on human behaviour - not exactly new - but more worryingly their suggestions seem authoritarian. George A Akerlof and Robert J Shiller ...

AFI: Investment time horizons cut short.
March 9, 2009... All three AFI indices have seen dramatic falls since the onset of the financial crisis resulting in widespread sell-offs and shorter horizons, which is raising concern among the panellists. As macroeconomic news seems to move from bad to...

FoFs: Wanted: older and wiser managers.
March 9, 2009... Paul Kim, director of portfolio management at FundQuest, attributes some of Way Global Red Active's success to its more mature managers. Yet his strategy for the year remains cautious. There are times when grey hair is attractive. Times of...

FOCUS: Bright star in Threadneedle universe.
March 9, 2009... Colleagues and advisers give Leigh Harrison, the head of UK equities at Threadneedle, much of the credit for the group's success in riding out a difficult year, writes Hannah Smith. Threadneedle has ridden out the turbulence of the past...

Fund Manager's Diary: 23 February to 1 March 2009.
March 9, 2009... Monday All set for a busy week, as it's the last week of the financial year for the Ventus funds. There is a deal completion meeting on the agenda and presentations with existing and potential investors, as we have just launched another #20m...

COMMENT: Past masters and the future of capitalism.
March 16, 2009... Daniel Ben-Ami, Editor The debate about the future of capitalism is welcome in many respects. It raises the possibility of developing a deeper understanding of how the real economy works. This in turn would make it easier to find...

Neptune attacks fund switch by IMA.
March 16, 2009... Neptune has attacked the Investment Management Association (IMA) for shunting its Income fund into the new UK Equity Income & Growth sector. The group says the fund was moved without its knowledge despite its attempts to work with the...

R&M hires global funds specialist from Newton.
March 16, 2009... River & Mercantile has recruited Alex Stanic from Newton to run a global fund for the group. Stanic will join as head of global equities, an area the firm has always planned to expand into, in mid-June after completing his three- month...

Baer to bring physical gold fund onshore.
March 16, 2009... Julius Baer plans to bring its Physical Gold fund onshore to widen access to British investors. The fund, which buys gold bars that are stored in vaults in Switzerland, was launched in October 2008 and has seen inflows of Swfr700m (#423m)...

IN BRIEF: Hargreaves adds to Wealth 150 list.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Hargreaves Lansdown has added M&G Strategic Corporate Bond, Investec Global Special Situations and Ignis Hexam Global Emerging Markets to its Wealth 150 list. It says the M&G fund was added to give investors access to Richard Woolnough's...

IN BRIEF: New Star manager set for Henderson.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Guy de Blonay, the manager of the New Star Global Financials fund, has confirmed that he will move over to Henderson Global Investors. The departure of Tim Steer, the manager of New Star's UK Alpha fund, to Artemis last week signalled that...

IN BRIEF: UBS discounts initial.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Isa charge UBS Global Asset Management is offering a 1% discount on the current 4% initial charge for Isa investments in its retail range of funds. The offer, which applies to the group's range of 12 British retail Oeics, runs until April 6....

Premier revamps European portfolio.
March 16, 2009... Premier has restructured its European Growth fund as a large/mid cap portfolio after Michael Jennings took over as manager earlier this month. The high conviction fund had a small-cap bias and its former manager, Rupert Morrell, used a...

Baring plans multi-asset fund for retail investors.
March 16, 2009... Baring Asset Management is to launch a retail version of its Dynamic Asset Allocation funds as the manager increases equity exposure in anticipation of a market rally later in the year. Andrew Cole, who has run the institutional mandate...

IN BRIEF: Collins Stewart adds to team.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Chris Colclough has joined Collins Stewart Wealth Management's multi- manager team. He is responsible for European fund selection, and manage several high net worth private client portfolios and five life company multi-manager funds....

Healthcare mergers mark end of the blockbuster era.
March 16, 2009... Last week saw several mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in the healthcare sector. Roche, a Swiss-based drugmaker, agreed to buy all remaining shares in Genentech for $46.8 billion (#34 billion) in a takeover described as the largest in...

IN BRIEF: Fidelity cuts Isa transfer charge.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Fidelity has reduced the initial charge for all Isa transfers from 3.5% to 3%. The offer will run until April 30 to enable advisers to transfer clients' assets both in this tax year and the next one. Moreover, 3% commission is still payable...

IN BRIEF: Oxford launches approved EIS.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Oxford Capital has launched an Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS), the Oxford Gateway Approved fund, to sit beside the group's unapproved EIS funds. Both types invest in the healthcare, sustainability and communications sectors but the key...

IN BRIEF: Bank of Korea holds interest rate.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... The Bank of Korea left its base interest rate unchanged at 2% last week. In a statement the central bank said that although the decline in both domestic demand and exports still posed risks to the economy, the weakness of the South Korean won...

IN BRIEF: Allianz revamps European fund.(Brief article)
March 16, 2009... Allianz Global Investors is to change the investment objective and name of the Allianz RCM European Index fund to create a European Equity Income fund. If this is approved, the fund will be launched on March 30 and will be co-managed by Neil...

Energy dominates FTSE in rebalance.
March 16, 2009... Oil and gas remains the dominant sector among Britain's 100 largest companies after the latest changes to the FTSE 100. At its quarterly rebalancing this month, an oil company, two miners and an investment trust were among those moving...

Bonds help equity income managers hit the target.
March 16, 2009... Equity income managers are looking to bonds to make up the yield shortfall from banks, according to research from Standard & Poor's Fund Services (S&P). The ratings agency has released its latest sector update, showing that some income...

TriAlpha takes short view with bond fund.
March 16, 2009... TriAlpha Investment has launched a corporate bond fund. The ACP TriAlpha Global Credit vehicle, managed by Steven O'Hanlon, is run on an absolute return basis with an emphasis on capital preservation. The Jersey-domiciled fund is...

ANALYSIS: Future of technology sector in doubt as assets dwindle.
March 16, 2009... Jupiter has become the latest group to merge away a technology fund as assets in the sector continue to dwindle. The #28m Jupiter Global Technology fund will be merged into the Global Managed fund next month if unitholders approve the...

STATESIDE: Zip code lottery of hottest property.
March 16, 2009... Wealthy Manhattanites sit tight and wait for property prices to fall further and elsewhere supply grows as mortgagees default - but the biggest falls in value are where the sun shines brightest. Waiting in the wings Buyers are on strike,...

STRATEGY: Building returns with wary approach.
March 16, 2009... Property values plunge as the downturn continues, which raises opportunities for investors. But these assets must be actively managed to guarantee a steady income in the long term. To assess the prospects for the real estate investment...

TRENDS: Adroit moves stymie panic reaction.
March 16, 2009... Investors should diversify to avoid being crushed because the situation is not as bleak as the prevailing view - but care must be taken to pick companies with healthy cash flows and payouts. Investors face a challenge and a dilemma in the...

Q&A: In the gilts world it is no surprise to be surprised.(Interview)
March 16, 2009... Geoff Lunt, the manager of the HSBC Gilt & Fixed Interest fund, answers questions from Adam Lewis. Q: How has the Bank of England's quantitative easing affected the gilt market? A: Over the past week [to March 9] it has made a...

FEATURE: Out of proportion.
March 16, 2009... The downturn hit eastern Europe and prompted investor scrutiny and weakening sentiment, but the region comprises many economies, some of which are more affected that others. Tomas Hirst examines the prospects for the region. Eastern Europe...

Protest and unrest in affected countries in the region.
March 16, 2009... Eastern European countries have seen some of the largest protests in recent months over perceived government mishandling of the economic crisis in the region. In January thousands of people attended a protest in Vilnius, the Lithuanian...

ANALYSIS: Will solid gold hedge go on growing?
March 16, 2009... An authoritative forecast suggesting that the price of gold could surge to $2,500 an ounce over the next five years reinforces the view that investing in a bar or two is a good buffer against inflation. Gold could surge to $2,500 an ounce...

INVESTMENT TRUSTS: Uncharted territory proves perilous.
March 16, 2009... Trusts in the Global Growth sector plunged in value in the past year but they say they are free to take the long-term view on emerging markets - but still divisions arise over how to face the crisis. The phrase "global growth" looks like...