Fund Strategy articles from November 2005

Fund Strategy archives from November 2005

At last - a rational debate on pensions.
November 7, 2005... The publication of the Tomorrow's Company report* on pensions last week was an enormous step forward for the debate on retirement incomes. It provides a rational framework for discussion of the topic, as an alternative to the flawed approach...

Property fund for retail investors.
November 7, 2005... M&G Investments launches a #400m onshore commercial property fund this week available to retail investors. John Cartwright, head of retail funds at Prudential Property Investment Managers, will manage the M&G Property Portfolio. ...

Clark pushes HSBC products to front of shelf.
November 7, 2005... Andy Clark, former head of retail at DWS Investments, has joined HSBC Investments to raise the profile of HSBC funds in the British retail marketplace. Clark, who takes up the role of head of retail at HSBC, will be joined by four...

Aberdeen Asian trust targets 4.5% yield.
November 7, 2005... Aberdeen Asset Management is following Schroders with its planned launch next month of an Asian income orientated investment trust. Similar to Schroders, which in July this year raised #150m into its Oriental Income investment trust, Aberdeen...

IN BRIEF: Lewis scoops up 'excellence' award.
November 7, 2005... Adam Lewis, associate editor of Fund Strategy, has won the specialist journalist of the year award from the Investment Management Association for "excellence in investment writing". Lewis is responsible for news editing on the magazine and...

IN BRIEF: SVM poised to appoint managers.
November 7, 2005... SVM Asset Management is expected to announce three new recruits this week following the resignations of four fund managers. Fund Strategy understands that Hugh Cuthbert and Neil Veitch will join SVM from Kempen Capital Management. ...

IN BRIEF: Axa cements its Framlington buy.
November 7, 2005... Axa Investment Managers has acquired Framlington after FSA approval on October 12. Robert Kyprianou becomes Framlington's CEO and reports to Axa IM CEO Nicolas Moreau. Axa IM chairman Donald Brydon also becomes chairman of Framlington....

IN BRIEF: Marlborough eyes Far East growth.
November 7, 2005... Marlborough Fund Managers has launched its Far East Growth fund, co- managed by Christopher Wong and Jeffrey Lum of ARN Investment Partners. It has a #1,000 minimum investment, 5.25% initial fee and a 1.5% annual management charge. A 1.5%...

IN BRIEF: Close Brothers look to raise #35m.
November 7, 2005... The board of the Close Brothers Technology & General venture capital trust hopes to raise up to #35m via a C share issue. The venture capital trust invests about 40% in technology companies (split 25% in unquoted British stocks and 15% in...

IN BRIEF: Credit Suisse unveils new range.
November 7, 2005... Following the acquisition of the Artemis Premier fund of funds range in April 2005, Credit Suisse Asset Management has completed the integration of the portfolios into its existing range. The CS Multi- Manager range now offers 17 portfolios,...

Merrill Lynch to launch income IT.
November 7, 2005... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers aims to raise #150m with the launch of an income investment trust investing in global mining and energy companies. With a target initial annual dividend yield of 4.25%, the ML Commodities Income trust will...

Equities lead fresh surge in sales, IMA reports.
November 7, 2005... Net retail sales of investment funds were up significantly in September compared with the same month of 2004, according to the Investment Management Association. September's total net retail sales figure of #801.4m was only up 1.7%...

Investec follows trend for absolute returns.
November 7, 2005... Investec Asset Management is the latest fund management group to launch an absolute return bond fund. Launched on October 6 and managed by head of fixed income John Stopford, the Investec Sterling Target Return fund aims to provide...

IN BRIEF: Legal & General names new chief.
November 7, 2005... Legal & General has appointed Peter Chambers as chief executive officer of Legal & General Investment Management. Chambers, who will join the group on November 14, was previously chief investment officer of Gartmore Investment Management and...

IN BRIEF: Credit Suisse A ratings suspended.
November 7, 2005... Forsyth-OBSR has suspended the A ratings given to the Credit Suisse Income and Credit Suisse Monthly Income funds following the announced departure of the funds' manager Leigh Harrison for Threadneedle Investments. Forsyth-OBSR suspended the...

Boardman joins Merrill Lynch.
November 7, 2005... Mike Boardman has joined Merrill Lynch Investment Managers as retail operations director. He was previously chief operating officer for Gartmore Investment Management's European retail business and has also worked for Coutts in New York. ...

F&C sets policy to control discount.
November 7, 2005... The board of the #2.4bn Foreign & Colonial Investment trust has implemented a new share buyback policy, aimed at keeping the trust's discount within 10% of net asset value. The board says that it had been reviewing the valuation of the...

Ridgewell bucks trend with strong retail stance.
November 7, 2005... James Ridgewell, manager of the New Star Special Situations fund, is adopting a bullish stance on retail stocks. Compared with the fund's FTSE All-Share benchmark index which has 3.3% in retail stocks, Ridgewell now has 10% of his #17.9m...

GAM boosts range of multi-manager funds.
November 7, 2005... GAM has launched two new funds into its multi-manager range; GAM Multi- Japan and GAM Multi-North America. The addition of these two portfolios takes the number of multi-manager funds run by GAM to 54. Kier Boley, who runs the group's...

Zenith fund attracts #21m in October debut.
November 7, 2005... The Zenith European Income fund, managed by 2CG, has raised more than #21m following its launch on October 28. Managed by Charles Glasse, a former manager of the M&G European Dividend fund, the new Dublin-listed fund is the first continental...

IN BRIEF: Selestia to offer 30 new funds.
November 7, 2005... Selestia has added 30 new funds to its platform. Investors using the platform can now access additional portfolios managed by Allianz RCM (three funds), Cazenove (two), Investec (three), Premier (one), Threadneedle (12) and Williams de Broe...

IN BRIEF: Portfolio Planner to aid advisers.
November 7, 2005... Fidelity FundsNetwork has launched Portfolio Planner to help advisers with asset allocation via a number of portfolio modelling tools. Portfolio Planner combines risk-profiling and stochastic forecasting techniques and can generate a report...

IN BRIEF: Explain the risks, says IMA.
November 7, 2005... The Investment Management Association has proposed that the Financial Services Authority should adopt a common disclosure regime for all products marketed to retail investors. In its response to the FSA discussion paper entitled Wider Retail...

China slowdown might be on cards.
November 7, 2005... A levelling off of foreign direct investment and other domestic supply- side effects may lead to a slowdown in China's export growth next year, according to the most recent World Bank China quarterly update. Other factors that may affect...

Morley shifts #75bn to go overweight in equities.
November 7, 2005... Morley Fund Management has moved more than #75bn of its money run on an asset allocation basis to be overweight in equities. Head of strategy Adrian Jarvis explains that whereas over a month ago the group was 1% underweight in equities, it...

Coalition crisis threat to German reforms.
November 7, 2005... Germany's recently formed grand coalition government seems to be facing a leadership crisis already, according to Morgan Stanley economist Elga Bartsch in a Morgan Stanley comment. The coalition was formed between the new federal...

NEWS ANALYIS: Foreigners head to UK for #12.3bn shopping spree.
November 7, 2005... Last week proved a busy one for the British market in terms of mergers and acquisitions activity, as several large UK-based companies were approached by foreign buyers. Significant offers included Spanish company Telefonica making a bid...

TRENDS: Major markets enjoy positive time.
November 7, 2005... CF Ruffer Baker Steel proves its mettle by being the top-performing individual fund at a time when the leading stockmarkets were enjoying positive performance in the run-up to year-end. As we move towards the year-end and more inclement...

STRATEGY: Competition keeps lid on inflation.
November 7, 2005... The jump in fuel prices as a result of the recent hurricanes represents a greater threat to economic activity than does inflation, which now has central banks on a state of alert. The global economic outlook continues to look reasonably...

Q&A: Bond spreads widen as gloom begins to settle.
November 7, 2005... Jacob de Wit, head of fixed income at F&C Asset Management, answers questions from Simon Hildrey. Q: What do you think are the factors that have driven the recent widening of bond spreads in America and Europe? A: Spreads have widened...

World of choice.
November 7, 2005... With the British and American markets struggling, investing in the financial sector may not seem sensible, but James Daley says that ignores over 1,000 stocks globally and the specialist knowledge of financials managers The global...

Strategies for investing in financials.
November 7, 2005... Although financials funds have performed well over the past few years, finding a place for them in a balanced portfolio can be hard - at least for the purist fund strategist. With financial stocks accounting for almost 30% of the British...

Two styles that have paid off.
November 7, 2005... Jupiter's Philip Gibbs and New Star's Guy de Blonay have dominated the financials sector for the past few years, posting far superior returns to their peers. Although De Blonay worked alongside Gibbs for several years at Jupiter before...

Financial funds.
November 7, 2005... Financial funds UK Unit Trusts/OEICs 1/11/04 1/11/02 30/10/00 (IMA) Specialist 31/10/05 31/10/05 31/10/05 Finance % Chg Rank % Chg Rank % Chg Rank CF EPIC Ins & General ...

CHANNELS: Independence the key to successful advice.
November 7, 2005... Kevin Tooze, director of Equal Partners, talks to Helen Burnett about staying ahead in the financial market Q: What is Equal Partners' approach to providing investment advice? A: We use a number of research tools - as no doubt many...

ANALYSIS: Return of the slumbering giant.
November 7, 2005... Scottish Mortgage suffered the same bruising fate as other big investment trusts during the bear market. Now the $1.6bn fund has become a "genuinely global" product. The big generalist investment trusts were meant to be safe and steady...

FOCUS: Keeper of scotland's biggest secret.
November 7, 2005... Baillie Gifford is well known as an investment trust manager. But its skill as an open-ended fund manager is not quite as widely appreciated. Adam Lewis reports. Despite having a range of some 22 open-ended funds that have above- average...

FoFs: Follow the rules to regulate risk.
November 7, 2005... Dr Ana Cukic-Munro, head of portfolio strategy and construction at Insight Investments, says the UK Dynamic Managed fund reduces risk by imposing strict criteria on its holdings. Conventional theory suggests that the more concentrated a...

Fund of funds performance data.
November 7, 2005... Over one year, the Resolution Income fund joined the UK Equity and Bond sector in second place, returning 13.8% in the year to October 31, 2005. GHC High Income moved to the top of the sector, with 14.0%. The sector now has five funds. In the...

Fund Manager's Diary: 26 October - 1 November 2005.
November 7, 2005... Wednesday: Up early to feed 11-week-old son Caiden, then short walk to work for 7am. It has been a volatile fortnight on the markets and it is good to digest the news and get a head-start on the market. Things are quieter today though. The...

The world needs energy to grow.
November 14, 2005... A close examination of the World Energy Outlook published last week (see page 12) reveals that Tony Blair is talking hot air on global warming. Rather than the "blunt truth" he is fudging the difficult choices that need to be made. His pious...

Dalby off to NU in 'senior position'.
November 14, 2005... James Dalby, head of investment strategy at Bates Investments, is to leave the independent financial advice firm to join Norwich Union. Dalby, who will join NU in the second quarter of next year, will take a senior position within the life...

Premier poised to clinch two Solus gilt funds.
November 14, 2005... Subject to unitholder approval, Premier Asset Management is to acquire the management contracts of both the #16m Solus Short Dated Gilt fund and the #2m Solus Gilt fund. The funds, currently managed by Solus's chief investment officer Kevin...

New blood brings Swip team up to full speed.
November 14, 2005... Alix Stewart, manager of Gartmore's #626.8m Corporate Bond and #230m High Yield Corporate Bond funds, is leaving the group to join Scottish Widows Investment Partnership. Stewart has been appointed as a corporate bond fund manager within...

IN BRIEF: Co-heads to start at Royal London.
November 14, 2005... Stephen Peirce and Paul Rayner are to take over as co-managers of the Royal London UK Fixed Interest and Royal London Index Linked trusts from Jonathan Platt, the group's head of fixed interest. Peirce and Rayner joined Royal London Asset...

IN BRIEF: Brown Advisory in Dublin launch.
November 14, 2005... American fund management group Brown Advisory is launching three Dublin- domiciled Ucits III funds. The three portfolios are the Brown Advisory US Equity Value, US Equity Growth and US Equity Small Cap Growth funds and will mirror existing US...

IN BRIEF: New analyst for US equity team.
November 14, 2005... Threadneedle Investments has appointed Alex Robarts as an analyst on its US equity team. Robarts will focus on companies in the financial services and banking sectors. Robarts was previously an analyst covering the North American and Asian...

IN BRIEF: Annable to step down at BGI.
November 14, 2005... Barclays Global Investors has announced that Matthew Annable, CIO Europe, active equities, will be stepping down from his position next year. Annable was responsible for the group's active equity strategies in Britain and Europe, including the...

IN BRIEF: Schroders offers 2% discount.
November 14, 2005... Schroders is offering a 2% discount on the initial charge on investments into its three multi-manager portfolios until December 31. The Schroder S&P High Alpha, Strategic Balanced and Cautious Managed Distribution portfolios are run by...

IN BRIEF: C-share issue for Unicorn Aim VCT.
November 14, 2005... Matrix is planning to raise #20m through a C-share offer for the Unicorn Aim VCT II. Unicorn Asset Management will manage the C-share issue and will invest 50% of the net proceeds in cash equivalents and the balance in its own Oeic funds during...

Aegon acts to address equity failings.
November 14, 2005... Andrew Fleming, chief investment officer of Aegon Asset Management, has assumed the role of managing director following the departure of Colin McLatchie last week. McLat-chie, who became managing director four years ago, is believed to have...

SVM adds UK Alpha manager to list of new hires.
November 14, 2005... Following the recent resignations of four of its fund managers, SVM Asset Management has announced that three new managers are expected to join the group in the next few weeks. As reported in Fund Strategy (November 7, 2005, page 5), Hugh...

Liontrust attracts an intellectual #8m.
November 14, 2005... Liontrust Asset Management has taken in just under #8m into its new First Opportunities fund, following its launch last week. Managed by Anthony Cross, the fund is a more concentrated version of Cross's existing #123m Liontrust Intellectual...

IN BRIEF: New bond from FundsNetwork.
November 14, 2005... Advisers will be able to access 100 individual funds from 30 different providers through the FundsNetwork Investment Bond, which is provided by Standard Life. The bond will feature a clear charging structure, a commission gift option and a...

IN BRIEF: L&G opens structured plan.
November 14, 2005... The Legal & General Protected Capital and Growth Plan 7 is now available. The plan, which will be offered until January 6, provides investors with a 21% minimum return on investment, or 50% of any gains in the FTSE 100 capital growth index at...

IN BRIEF: AA rating for Jupiter portfolio.
November 14, 2005... Standard & Poor's has assigned an AA rating to the Jupiter Merlin Absolute Return portfolio. The fund is run by Jupiter's multi-manager team of John Chatfeild-Roberts, Peter Lawery and Algy Smith-Maxwell and is a fund of hedge funds investing...

Global Reits fund for UK by year-end.
November 14, 2005... Franklin Templeton Investments is to start marketing its new Global Real Estate Investment Trust fund before the end of this year. The asset manager expects to receive regulatory approval to launch the fund, which will be managed by Jack...

Morant Wright lines up Japan Income trust float.
November 14, 2005... The Morant Wright Japan Income trust is set to float on the London and Channel Islands stock exchanges after its initial public offering last week. The flotation is expected within the next few weeks, according to Stephen Morant, a...

Fund of funds assets grow #18bn in 10 years.
November 14, 2005... Over the past 10 years to the end of third quarter in 2005, funds under management in funds of funds have grown from #3.3bn to #21bn, according to the Investment Management Association. This growth has seen the percentage funds of funds...

IN BRIEF: Hedge FoF launch from Acencia.
November 14, 2005... Acencia has launched a fund of hedge funds that will invest primarily in debt-orientated hedge funds. The offer period for the fund runs until November 18 and it will trade on both the Irish and London stock exchanges as of November 24. The...

IN BRIEF: Syndicate buys Chartwell House.
November 14, 2005... Specialist fund manager Syndicate Asset Management has acquired the Chartwell House Group, a Cambridge-based fund management and financial services company. With Chartwell House's #90m in funds under management, the deal brings the total funds...

IN BRIEF: New marketing head for Axa.
November 14, 2005... Axa Investment Managers has appointed Tracy Watt as head of UK marketing. Watt will be based in London and will report to Delphine Canard, global head of sales support and communications & brand. Watt is currently marketing manager at Mellon...

Global trusts 'kept alive by buybacks'.
November 14, 2005... In the face of wide discounts and dull performance, there is growing pressure on Global Growth investment trusts to justify their existence. This is the view of Charles Cade, head of research at trust consultancy Close Wins. Cade says...

Domestic support will bolster Korean advance.
November 14, 2005... A narrowing of the valuation discount as well as a clean-up and restructuring in the banking sector have lowered the risk of the South Korean market, according to Henry Chan, manager of the #190m Baring Korea trust. While the Korean market...

IN BRIEF: Rates held for a third month.
November 14, 2005... The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England voted to keep interest rates unchanged at 4.5% at last week's meeting. The MPC also left rates unchanged at its September and October meetings but reduced rates from 4.75% to 4.5% in...

IN BRIEF: SGAM to open hedges to UK.
November 14, 2005... SG Asset Management has made its US-run fund of hedge funds range accessible to British investors. The offering includes four funds, the SGAM AI Premium, SGAM AI Optimum, SGAM AI Equilibrium and SGAM AI Starway funds. The funds target returns...

IN BRIEF: Invesco appoints Bevis as director.
November 14, 2005... Invesco International has appointed Ed Bevis as operations director, reporting to Invesco International managing director Mike Rothwell. Bevis, who was previously operations manager, takes responsibility for client and fund services in the...

Oil prices set to soar with demand.
November 14, 2005... Energy prices will rise substantially unless there is considerable investment in capacity, according to the annual World Energy Outlook from the International Energy Agency. In the WEO's Deferred Investment Scenario, the most pessimistic...

Insight positive on Euro stocks despite GDP slide.
November 14, 2005... Insight Investment has downgraded its GDP forecast for the eurozone because of a weak economic outlook for the region. According to Insight, sluggish consumption in Europe is unlikely to be a catalyst for stronger growth. The group...

Legg Mason's Miller tips rise in US equities.
November 14, 2005... The fortunes of American equity markets could be about to change, according to Legg Mason chief executive officer Bill Miller. In his latest quarterly market commentary, Miller identifies two important shifts that could revitalise America's...

TRENDS: Opportunity knocks for diversifiers.
November 14, 2005... Following the lucrative days of the 1980s and 1990s, bubbles burst and caution was key. Now, market and regulatory changes offer both opportunities and challenges to the canny investor. The multi-manager proposition, an approach that can...

STRATEGY: Positive outlook dominates Europe.
November 14, 2005... Analysts say fears about falling values of European stocks will be short-lived because aggressive moves by the central bank are unlikely and emerging market demand will keep prices buoyant. After any asset has risen almost 20% during the...

Q&A: Steady recovery bodes well for the consumer.(Interview)
November 14, 2005... Nigel Bolton, head of European equities at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, talks to Sarah Godfrey. Q: Is the long-awaited economic recovery really taking shape in Europe? A: Yes. Germany has been a laggard for more than 10...

Winning strategy.
November 14, 2005... Shifts in markets and individual investors' caution are prompting fund managers to take stock of bonds. The shrewdest move seems to be to have several options and to generate as much alpha from as many sources as possible, finds James...

What advisers are recommending.
November 14, 2005... Tony Lanning, research and investment director at Origen. "For our discretionary portfolios we have reduced the high-yield content and we are looking for managers that are more cautiously positioned, primarily in AAA and AA-rated credits...

CHANNELS: Social conscience fuels call for ethical product.
November 14, 2005... Jeremy Newbegin, director of The Ethical Partnership, answers questions from Helen Burnett. Q. How does The Ethical Partnership go about advising clients on ethical investment products? A: We encourage clients to do a normal fact-find...

ANALYSIS: Variations on an oriental theme.
November 14, 2005... Take a fund that invests in the Far East, mix it with a management group that takes a global thematic approach to investing, and the result will look something like Newton Oriental. Pick a fund with the name Oriental and you might assume it...

FOCUS: Time to spread the word on alpha.
November 14, 2005... After a slow, quiet start for HSBC's high alpha division almost a year ago, the new head of retail aims to raise the profile and performance of the fledgling business, writes Adam Lewis. Next month will mark the first anniversary of the...

FoFs: Diverse styles focus on single goal.
November 14, 2005... JPMorgan Asset Management offers one onshore multi-manager fund. Portfolio manager Olivia Mayell describes a process that allows managers to cherry-pick the most promising funds. JPMorgan Asset Management offers just one onshore...

Fund of funds performance data.
November 14, 2005... The #31m Investec Managed Growth fund of investment trusts is top of both the one and three-year performance tables for funds of funds in the IMA Active Managed sector. The fund, which was top of both tables when the sector was last analysed...

Fund Manager's Diary: 31 October ? 6 November 2005.
November 14, 2005... Monday: Successful multi-manager strategies require close relationships with sub advisers. This is a very much a partnership as we succeed or fail together with the managers we select. We get daily data and monthly reports but the...

COMMENT: Don't begrudge China its prosperity.
November 21, 2005... The increasingly futuristic shape of the Shanghai skyline is a welcome development. It symbolises China's drive to transform itself from a poor country into a rich one. China is in the process of shifting from being an impoverished rural...

Cazenove funds arm to go private.
November 21, 2005... Cazenove Capital Management is to gain independence from the Cazenove Group in a demerger expected to take place on December 30, 2005. The asset management business will be able to use the Cazenove Capital brand in perpetuity, having agreed...

New Star launch combines Pease and Whittaker.
November 21, 2005... New Star Asset Management is to launch a new fund, Pan-European Equity, which will combine the investment skills of established managers Richard Pease and Stephen Whittaker. The fund, which will be added to its Dublin-domiciled Oeic, will...