Fund Strategy articles from November 2006

Fund Strategy archives from November 2006

COMMENT: Green taxes foster a negative climate.
November 6, 2006... The Stern review on the economics of climate change has brought renewed calls for the extension of green taxes (see news analysis, p14). There are several reasons why such a move should be opposed. For a start they are a restriction on...

ISAs to continue beyond 2010 deadline.
November 6, 2006... The government has announced details of its plans to simplify Isas and committed itself to the savings wrapper beyond its original 2010 deadline. Speaking at the Pima annual conference last week, Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury,...

Baring head of equities to join ABN as chief investment officer.
November 6, 2006... David Kiddie has resigned as head of equities at Baring Asset Management to join ABN Amro Asset Management as chief investment officer, equities. Tim Scholefield, who is currently head of global equities at Barings, will replace him. ...

IN BRIEF: M&G plans Optical Income fund.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... M&G will launch an Optimal Income fund, subject to Financial Services Authority approval. The fund will be managed by Richard Woolnough, who runs the firm's #1.3bn Corporate Bond and #100m Strategic Corporate Bond portfolios. Woolnough...

IN BRIEF: Jupiter launches two new Sicavs.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Jupiter has unveiled its Emerging Europe Select and Global Financials Sicavs, as reported in Fund Strategy on October 23. The firm has revealed that Global Financials, run by Philip Gibbs, is being run in a similar style to its #1bn Financial...

IN BRIEF: T Bailey increases trail commission.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... T Bailey has upped trail commission to 75 basis points a year on retail classes of all its funds of funds. This compares with the industry standard of 50bps. The annual management charge on the retail unit class will be raised to 1.5% in...

IN BRIEF: Clerical opens Fidelity fund.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... The Clerical Medical Fidelity Worldwide Special Situations fund opened to new business last week. The fund invests equally in the Fidelity Special Situations and Global Special Situations funds. The move by Clerical Medical is in response to...

IN BRIEF: FSI starts India fund offer period.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... First State Investments last week commenced the offer period for the First State Indian Subcontinent fund. The fund is a sub-fund of the First State Investments ICVC, UK-registered Oeic. It is managed by Vijay Tohani, senior portfolio manager...

Investec brings Europe fund in-house.
November 6, 2006... Investec has ended its six-year association with BlackRock by bringing the management of its #185m European fund in-house. The fund, which Albert Morillo at BlackRock has managed since April 2000, will soon be run using Investec's...

Manager quits BlackRock MLIM for T Rowe Price.
November 6, 2006... Niall Gallagher, manager of BlackRock Merrill Lynch Investment Managers' #200m European Dynamic unit trust, has left the firm. James Macmillan, head of the European equity team and manager of the Continental European unit trust and Greater...

HSBC to launch two global funds of funds.
November 6, 2006... HSBC Investments is set to unveil Global Return and Global Distribution funds of funds on Thursday. The firm declined to comment further on the launches but Fund Strategy understands they will be the first instalment in HSBC's "Open...

IN BRIEF: Invesco proposes name change.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... The board of the Invesco UK Property Income Trust has proposed a change of name to Invesco Property Income Trust. The proposals will enable the manager to invest in a wider universe of property assets, including property in Continental...

IN BRIEF: IMA welcomes delay to edict.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... The Investment Management Association has welcomed an announcement from HM Revenue and Customs that it intends to postpone the implementation of the gross payment provisions for authorised investment funds, due to come into force in April...

Newton plans third equity income fund.
November 6, 2006... Newton Investment Management is planning to unveil its third overseas equity income fund in January 2007. Following the launches of the Newton Global Income and Asian Income funds at the end of November 2005, it will launch the Newton...

Power cut forces shutdown of Mellon office.
November 6, 2006... Some 1,400 staff at Mellon Global Investment and Newton Investment Management were forced to leave their office on Friday afternoon last week after a power cut. As a result one half of the office, which is situated in Queen Victoria Street,...

Hall steps down from Japan Capital Growth.
November 6, 2006... Jeremy Hall has stepped down as co-manager of the Henderson Japan Capital Growth fund. Michael Wood-Martin, who had co-managed the fund with Hall, will act as sole manager. The move is designed to allow Hall to concentrate on co-managing...

IN BRIEF: Fidelity Sicav gains A rating.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Fidelity International's Global Property Sicav has been awarded an A rating by Standard & Poor's. The #140m fund, launched in December last year, is run from Boston by Steve Buller. The portfolio aims to provide long-term capital growth from...

IN BRIEF: Operating chief joins Resolution.(Brief article)
November 6, 2006... Ian Paterson Brown joins Resolution Asset Management this week as chief operating officer. Paterson Brown was previously chief financial officer at F&C Asset Management. In his new position he will be responsible for information systems,...

Bank of Japan to raise interest rates.
November 6, 2006... The Bank of Japan is preparing to make more interest rate hikes, according to Capital Economics. Julian Jessop, chief international economist at the economic consultancy, makes the case based on an analysis of the Bank of Japan's...

Artemis European Growth top choice for AFIs.
November 6, 2006... The #1.4bn Artemis European Growth fund is the most popular fund appearing across the Adviser Fund Index series, following the rebalancing of the three AFIs on November 1. Managed by Philip Wolstencroft, the Artemis portfolio was chosen by...

UK small-cap sector sees biggest outflows.
November 6, 2006... The UK Smaller Companies sector saw the biggest net retail outflows in September, at #24m, for the first time in eight months, according to monthly statistics from the Investment Management Association. The last time the sector experienced the...

Stern review economics claims need to be examined.
November 6, 2006... Despite the massive coverage of the Stern review* on the economics of climate change, many of its key arguments have hardly been scrutinised. The discussion tends to focus on scary scenarios of what climate change could mean and proposals...

Change or catastrophe.
November 6, 2006... One of the most confusing things about the discussion of global warming is the muddling of climate change with climate catastrophe. There is a broad scientific consensus that the earth is warming and that humans have played a role in the...

TRENDS: Commercial property still a safe bet.
November 6, 2006... Having delivered steady returns throughout the year while equities and bonds have suffered, the outlook for commercial property remains positive despite fears valuations have become too high. Commercial property has been the success story...

STRATEGY: Agricultural sector is well positioned.
November 6, 2006... A rapidly growing global population and increasing demand for alternative energy sources such as biofuels provide support for rising agricultural commodity prices over the long term. According to United Nations estimates, the world's...

Q&A: Butler takes the four dimensional approach.(Interview)
November 6, 2006... Curtis Butler, co-manager of the Legg Mason Asia Pacific fund, answers questions from Simon Hildrey. Q: What is your investment approach in managing the Legg Mason Asia Pacific fund? A: We combine a quantitative investment approach...

SIMPLY THE BEST: Best position.
November 6, 2006... Best ideas funds have become increasingly prevalent in the British investment marketplace, with Skandia and Rensburg both entering the market this year. So why have they become so popular? Frances Hughes reports. The concept of "best...

CHANNELS: Falcon soars as ifa consortium takes off.
November 6, 2006... Allan Rosengren, chief executive of the Falcon Group, answers questions from Adam Lewis. Q: What services does the group offer? A: We operate as a national IFA and a network. Our predominant service is investment, which accounts for...

ANALYSIS: Standard life earns more respect.
November 6, 2006... Standard Life UK Equity High Income has attracted #260m of investment in little over a year, earning Karen Robertson, the fund manager, comparisons with a well-known industry name. One expects fund managers from Standard Life to be either...

FOCUS: Opposites unite for balanced service.
November 6, 2006... Richard Royds, managing director of the UK retail business at BlackRock MLIM, says the union of the polar strengths of the two firms will make for a balanced business. Will Jackson reports. The September merger of Merrill Lynch Investment...

AFI: Rebalance prompts large turnover.
November 6, 2006... Last week's Adviser Fund Index rebalancing saw a big clear-out of constituent funds are a substantial uptake of new ones as panelists changed their exposure to several sectors. Significant fund turnover was a feature of the Adviser Fund...

FoFs: Schroders benefits from Ucits powers.
November 6, 2006... Schroders' S&P Strategic Balanced portfolio is first in its sector over one year, thanks largely to the widening of investment opportunities under Ucits III, says its manager, Andrew Yeadon The Schroder S&P Strategic Balanced portfolio...

Fund Manager's Diary: 16-22 October 2006.
November 6, 2006... Monday The week begins with a mini-tour of the Midlands, including Wolverhampton, Birmingham and Oxford, so I have to catch an early train from Euston. We regularly travel to see our clients and this is one of the aspects of my job that I...

COMMENT: US political gridlock disguises impasse.
November 13, 2006... "Gridlock is good" seems to be the market reaction to the congressional mid-term elections in America. The consensus is that the new-found strength of the Democrats in Congress will cancel out George W Bush's Republican administration....

Sinopia to run HSBC Monthly Income.
November 13, 2006... HSBC Investments has moved its #460m Monthly Income fund to Sinopia, the group's Paris-based quantitative asset management division. The fund is now being run on a 70% equity, 30% bond basis, with a maximum deviation of plus or minus 5%,...

JPM Fleming unveils rollover vehicle proposals.
November 13, 2006... The board of the #233m JPMorgan Fleming Income & Growth split-capital investment trust has announced detailed plans for the trust's rollover vehicle. Current shareholders will be given a choice of income shares, capital shares or units...

Omam set to soft-close UK Select Smaller Cos.
November 13, 2006... Old Mutual Asset Managers will announce plans this week to soft-close its #404m UK Select Smaller Companies fund, Fund Strategy understands. The fund, managed by Dan Nickols, is ranked first out 48 funds in the IMA UK Smaller Companies...

IN BRIEF: MPC raises rates by quarter point.(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee has raised interest rates by a quarter point to 5%. The British economy recorded its fourth successive quarter of firm growth and, although household spending has been volatile, the bank says...

Norwich to launch global property fund.
November 13, 2006... Norwich Union will launch its Global Property Oeic on November 27. The fund will invest in American, Asian, Canadian, Australian and European commercial property companies, by holding 50-75 real estate investment trusts. The portfolio,...

Gartmore proposes fund merger to boost efficiency.
November 13, 2006... Gartmore plans to merge its UK Fixed Interest fund with the Gartmore Corporate Bond fund. The merger is expected to take place next week, following Financial Services Authority and investor approval at an extraordinary general meeting....

WestLB fund offers rising income stream.
November 13, 2006... WestLB is to launch a structured product that offers investors a rising income stream from 4.75% to potentially 7.25% over a six-year investment term. The SSG (Structured Solutions Group) Capital Protected Income Plan, on which WestLB will be...

IN BRIEF: Sitka Health fund issues shares.(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Sitka, a division of Noble Fund Managers, has launched a #12m ordinary share offer in its Sitka Health Fund venture capital trust. The Sitka VCT is the only fund offering access to private equity investment in the British healthcare market....

Morley appoints high alpha equity manager.
November 13, 2006... Richard Colwell is to join Morley in the newly created position of high alpha UK equity manager. Colwell joins from Credit Suisse, where he managed the #82.5m UK Growth & Income fund and the #85.4m Credit Suisse Managed Assets Oeic. ...

Resolution stops European Equity trust.
November 13, 2006... Resolution Asset Management has pulled the launch of its European Equity investment trust, which was to be run by Argonaut Capital Partners, as it has not raised enough assets. The trust was to be based on the existing #144m Resolution...

Edinburgh fund repels Laxey liquidation move.
November 13, 2006... The board of the #80m Edinburgh Small Companies Investment Trust, run by Standard Life Investments, has successfully blocked an attempt by Laxey Partners to wind up the fund. A tender offer for half of the share capital was made in...

IN BRIEF: FS contributor wins IMA award.(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... Simon Hildrey has won the Investment Management Association's specialist journalist of the year for his Fund Strategy contributions. Hildrey regularly writes cover stories, features and news for the magazine. He has written for Fund Strategy...

FSA sparks debate on private equity industry regulation.
November 13, 2006... The Financial Services Authority has published a discussion paper on risk and regulatory engagement in the private equity industry*. The paper assesses whether the watchdog's approach to regulation, which includes a supervisory...

Fossil fuel hegemony to continue for foreseeable future.
November 13, 2006... Fossil fuels will remain the dominant global energy source for a long time to come, even if extensive measures to curb global warming are implemented. These are the conclusions from World Energy Outlook, an authoritative annual publication...

IN BRIEF: Optimal Income: correction.(Brief article)
November 13, 2006... M&G's new fund, which is awaiting Financial Services Authority approval, will be called Optimal Income, not Optical Income, as stated in the headline on page 5 of last week's Fund Strategy. The fund will be run by Richard Woolnough, who now...

Dividend tax treatment limits take-up of equity Isas.
November 13, 2006... The government's announcement two weeks ago that it plans to simplify Isa savings wrappers has largely been welcomed by the fund industry. Alongside committing to Isas beyond their original 2010 deadline, Ed Balls, economic secretary to...

TRENDS: Black gold is not the only commodity.
November 13, 2006... The argument for investing in oil is hard to dispute, but with growing demand from developing economies like China, other natural resources offer exciting, though volatile, opportunities. Oil is seldom out of the news these days. Its...

STRATEGY: Inflation fears threaten Fed rate cut.
November 13, 2006... Despite the slowdown in the American economy, the Federal Reserve has not yet indicated an intention to cut interest rates, as might be expected, while inflation continues to creep upwards. Now that the slowdown in the American economy is...

Q&A: Hexam aims to knock competitors for six.(Interview)
November 13, 2006... Bryan Collings, a partner and fund manager at Hexam, answers questions from Frances Hughes. Q: What is Hexam? A: It is a 50/50 venture between us and Resolution Asset Management. There are six partners, hence the name Hexam. We had...

OIL INDUSTRY: Over a barrel.
November 13, 2006... Global energy demands are increasing at a time when many oil-producing regions are suffering supply problems. Vanessa Drucker examines where the oil price is heading and the prospects for companies in the sector. Oil is an emotional...

OIL INDUSTRY: Ripples in the Commodity Index.
November 13, 2006... Quietly, at the end of July 2006, Goldman Sachs changed the gasoline weighting in its GSCI Commodity index. The revision had a serious impact on other commodities markets, including energy. Before July, the index included both the RFG...

OIL INDUSTRY: China syndrome.
November 13, 2006... China is a dominant player behind the demand pressure, with GDP surging and no significant sign of a slowdown in sight. While mature economies do not absorb energy so fast, China is frenetically building factories and infrastructure. "They...

ANALYSIS: Artemis chooses depth over width.
November 13, 2006... Mark Tyndall, co-founder and chief executive of Artemis, is leading the company at a vital point as it moves beyond the boutique stage. His plan for the future is to keep things simple. His name is Dr No. Well, actually, it is Mark...

REVIEW: Misanthropy will not save the planet.
November 13, 2006... Guardian columnist and green campaigner George Monbiot argues that austerity and dictatorship are necessary to deal with climate change. He is wrong in principle and in fact. It is almost possible to feel sorry for George Monbiot. The...

FOCUS: Marlborough rides the grey wave.(Company overview)
November 13, 2006... Baby boomers want to boost their income, and Marlborough Fund Managers aims to exploit the opportunity, says Keith Ounsworth, the firm's sales and marketing director. Will Jackson reports. Marlborough Fund Managers is aiming to capitalise...

AFI: Top AFI groups remain most popular.
November 13, 2006... Despite significant changes to sector weightings and underlying funds in the Adviser Fund Indices on November 1, just 15 groups still account for almost two thirds of the AFI series An analysis of the rebalancing of the Adviser Fund Index...

FoFs: Jupiter equities keep inflation at bay.
November 13, 2006... The Jupiter Merlin Income Portfolio's aim is simple to ensure investors' spending power stays ahead of inflation. With a return 10% above the sector average, it is living up to expectations. The core of the Jupiter Merlin Income portfolio...

Fund Manager's Diary: 9-15 October 2006.
November 13, 2006... Monday I arrive in Seoul, South Korea, ready for a week of company meetings. When I check my Blackberry after the flight, I am greeted with more than a dozen messages enquiring about my safety. Several are from my wife and she sounds pretty...

COMMENT: Free marketeer has left a strange legacy.
November 20, 2006... Few people under the age of 40 are likely to have heard of Milton Friedman, the doyen of free market economics who died last week. Friedman was one of the key intellectual forces behind what became known as the Thatcher revolution in Britain...

UBS widens scope of Asia Equity fund.
November 20, 2006... UBS Global Asset Management has received Financial Services Authority and unitholder approval to alter the mandate of its #16m Developed Asia Equity fund. As first revealed in Fund Strategy (August 28) the fund is to widen its...

AIC poised to lock horns with Treasury in court.
November 20, 2006... The Association of Investment Companies and the JPMorgan Fleming Claverhouse Trust have finally got a date for their hearing in the European Court of Justice. On December 13, the trade body and investment trust will tackle the Treasury on...

Omam to hard close UK Smaller Companies at 350 million units.
November 20, 2006... Old Mutual is to hard close rather than soft close its #454m UK Smaller Companies fund to new investors by limiting the number of units in issue to 350 million. News of the fund's closure was first revealed in Fund Strategy last week...

IN BRIEF: Resolution fund outgrows terms.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Resolution Asset Management is to remove the redemption terms of its UK Property fund. They were originally introduced to help manage the fund's liquidity. But the group says they are no longer necessary as the fund has become established...

IN BRIEF: Barclays to offer index funds.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Barclays Stockbrokers is to launch two products linked to the performance of the FTSE/Xinhua China 25 index and the Euro Stoxx 50 (Price) index. The products form part of Barclays Stockbrokers ongoing strategy to enable UK-domiciled investors...

IN BRIEF: Ingenious unveils further Live VCTs.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Ingenious has launched two new live entertainment venture capital trusts: Ingenious Live VCT 1 and 2. They are jointly targeted to raise up to #50m to be invested in companies producing and promoting new and established live events. ...

IN BRIEF: Barclays to unveil tax benefits plan.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Barclays is to launch a Defined Returns Plan that takes advantage of investors' capital gains tax exemptions. The plan's potential returns are treated as capital gains rather than income for tax purposes. This means investors can use their...

IN BRIEF: Old Mutual hires European team.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Old Mutual Asset Managers (UK) has appointed a team to launch a European equity long/short fund. Graeme Gilchrist joins from Cambrian Capital Management, where he was a partner and portfolio manager. Graham Forster joins from Deutsche Asset...

IN BRIEF: Rutley applies to be listed on LSE.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Rutley European Property is applying to list on the London and Channel Islands Stock Exchanges and raise up to #200m by issuing C-shares. Rutley European Property is a European real estate investment company managed by Rutley Capital...

Credit Suisse to move fund to quant.
November 20, 2006... Credit Suisse plans to shift the management of the #60m Transatlantic Oeic to its quantitative resources group, subject to approval from unitholders and the Financial Services Authority. The firm will use its sustained alpha process, run by...

Henderson Far East trust to transfer to Jersey.
November 20, 2006... The Henderson Far East Income Trust is to re-domicile in Jersey and adapt its objective to encapsulate more capital growth, subject to shareholder approval. The tax-saving benefits of being offshore is the main reason for re- domiciling,...

Unicorn appoints Free Spirit fund manager.
November 20, 2006... Unicorn Asset Management has appointed Chris Hutchinson as lead manager on its Free Spirit fund. Hutchinson has co-managed the #20m portfolio with Peter Webb, the firm's founder and chief investment officer, since his arrival in January. The...

IN BRIEF: Fortis launches green approach.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Fortis Investments' SRI team has launched an investment approach to quantify environmental benefits in the management of environmental sustainability funds. Developed jointly by Fortis investments and Trucost, the approach builds on the...

IN BRIEF: Alliance appoints investment chief.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Alliance Trust has appointed Claudia Philips as managing director of investment dealing. Philips, who was responsible for establishing Halifax's online and telephone sharedealing service, will drive forward the development of Alliance's...

IN BRIEF: Sanlam awards fund mandate.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Sanlam Asset Management (Ireland) has awarded Principal Global Investors (Europe) a $340m (#178m) sub-advisory mandate for a global equity fund. It will be part of the multi-manager range of Sanlam Universal Funds, which are open to European...

Commission calls for rethink on Ucits.
November 20, 2006... The European Commission has concluded that core elements of the Ucits Directive are not functioning effectively. In a white paper* the Commission says the Ucits directive, introduced 20 years ago, does not allow fund managers with funds or...

ProVen aims to raise millions via C-share offer.
November 20, 2006... The ProVen venture capital trust is seeking to raise #15m of new assets via a C-share offer. The generalist VCT, which specialises in investing in media and internet companies, is set to pay out a 31p dividend on December 7 to all...

HSBC moves UK Smaller Companies fund over to quantitative method.
November 20, 2006... HSBC Investments has changed the management of its UK Smaller Companies fund to a quantitative method. The #30m portfolio was moved to HSBC's Paris-based quantitative division, Sinopia, at the end of August. HSBC announced a similar...

IN BRIEF: Joint forum dates announced.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Gartmore, M&G, Newton and Schroders will host their sixth annual Joint Investment Forum in January. Intermediaries will hear about developments in European, British and global equities. The forums will be held from January 8-19, 2007, at 10...

IN BRIEF: Credit Suisse hires chief for EMEA.(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... Credit Suisse has appointed Joachim Mies as chief operating officer for asset management in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Mies, who joins from Dresdner Kleinwort, will work closely with the senior management team in asset management...

IN BRIEF: Correction.(Correction notice)(Brief article)
November 20, 2006... The Focus feature in last week's Fund Strategy (Marlborough rides the grey wave, pages 26-27) wrongly stated that Hargreave Hale runs unit trusts for Marlborough on a four-year rolling contract. The contract operates on a three-year basis....