Fund Strategy articles from September 2006

Fund Strategy archives from September 2006

COMMENT: Fear factor failed to hit global economy.
September 4, 2006... With the benefit of almost five years of hindsight, what do the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, and their aftermath say about the modern world? Other publications can discuss the broader significance of the event. But in relation to...

JPM unveils second total return fund.
September 4, 2006... JPMorgan Asset Management has launched the JPM Balanced Total Return fund. The fund, launched last week, is the second total return product offered by the group for sale in the British market. It is designed to complement the JPM Cautious...

Melluish returns to Gartmore as product specialist.
September 4, 2006... Simon Melluish, former head of US equities at Gartmore, has rejoined the group. Melluish, who managed the Gartmore US Focus fund and co-managed the US Growth portfolio with Bill Miller, left the group in January 2005 to set up his own...

Fidelity targets with profits legacy money.
September 4, 2006... Fidelity is targeting legacy money in with-profits funds as assets in its MultiManager Distribution fund, which launched this week. As reported in Fund Strategy (August 21, 2006, page 5) the fund, managed by Richard Skelt and Simon...

IN BRIEF: Insight plans property fund IPO.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Insight Investment plans to carry out an Initial Public Offering of its property fund management business on the Alternative Investment Market by the end of September. The new company will be called Invista Real Estate Investment Management...

IN BRIEF: Morley chief exec retires.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Keith Jones, chief executive officer of Morley Fund Management, has retired after seven years in the role. Jones, who leaves the firm at the end of the year, is also a board member of the Investment Management Association and has recently...

IN BRIEF: Keydata bond buys US property.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... The Keydata Income Property bond, which launched this week, has been seeded with investments in two American apartment complexes. The bond offers investors 7% annual or 1.75% quarterly income, over a fixed term of six years, derived from...

IN BRIEF: Abbey launches more accounts.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... Abbey has unveiled the fourth issue of its capital-guaranteed deposit accounts. The four bonds offer guaranteed capital return at maturity and different benefits, depending on the underlying investment. The Income and Growth, UK Equity,...

IN BRIEF: Midas funds now on Cofunds.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... The Capita Financial Midas Balanced Growth and Balanced Income funds are now available on Cofunds. The funds offer exposure to British equities, overseas equities, fixed interest, alternative assets, structured products, property and private...

IN BRIEF: FundsNetwork to showcase scheme.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... FundsNetwork will unveil its "intelligent neutrality" initiative, developed in association with Technical Connection, in a series of workshops from September 25-29. The sessions will focus on key areas of inheritance tax and estate planning,...

ETF to offer 29 commodities funds.
September 4, 2006... ETF Securities will unveil 29 exchange-traded commodities funds "within the next few weeks". The launch will allow investors to trade commodities on the London Stock Exchange through ordinary brokerage accounts. The range is divided into 19...

Total fund sales down 50% from July last year.
September 4, 2006... Total net industry sales in July were 50% lower than in the same month in 2005, according to the latest Investment Management Association statistics. They fell from #982m in July last year to #438m in July this year. Net retail sales...

Swip launches global equity fund for British Muslims.
September 4, 2006... Scottish Widows Investment Partnership has launched an Islamic fund targeted at the two million Muslims living in the UK. The Swip Islamic Global Equity fund, launched last week, is a sterling share class version of the Global Islamic...

IN BRIEF: River & Mercantile hires head dealer.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... River & Mercantile Asset Management has appointed Stuart Heath as head dealer. Heath will work with Andrew Bollon, head of operations and information technology, and the UK equity team in developing the firm's dealing desk. He has previously...

Riley fund chooses Schroders for active manager role.
September 4, 2006... Riley, Royal London's new individually insured investment, has selected Schroders as its active manager (see Fund Strategy, August 28, 2006, page 6). The FTSE 350 Managed fund, run by Schroders' Andy Simpson, is one of two funds...

Axa hires manager to run UK Growth.
September 4, 2006... Axa Framlington has announced the recruitment of Jamie Hooper from F&C. Hooper, manager of F&C's #400m UK Equity portfolio, will join the firm at the end of November, to run the #100m UK Growth fund. Hooper is a permanent replacement...

First State Global Opportunities fund manager steps down.
September 4, 2006... Andrew Dalrymple, manager of First State Investments' Global Opportunities fund since its launch in 1999, has left the firm. Habib Subjally, head of global equities and manager of First State Global Growth, has taken control of the #65m...

IN BRIEF: FSA to simplify approval process.(Brief article)
September 4, 2006... The Financial Services Authority has outlined a proposal to simplify its complicated approved persons regime. The consultation paper sets out plans to merge customer functions in response to feedback from the industry. The paper also sets...

ANALYSIS: AITC link to VCTs fortuitous as fresh constraints bite.
September 4, 2006... The announcement by the Association of Investment Trust Companies to broaden its scope and represent venture capital trusts could prove timely for VCTs. As reported in Fund Strategy (August 21, 2006, page 8), the AITC has received applications...

TRENDS: Coll will open up absolute returns.
September 4, 2006... The collective investment scheme rulebook will widen the options for investors and allow fund managers to pursue strategies previously only available to hedge funds, such as absolute return. The new guidelines for the management of...

STRATEGY: Fed's stance bodes well for growth.
September 4, 2006... The possibility that the Federal Reserve will again raise interest rates is raising concern that US growth will be squeezed. However, a period of modest, sustainable growth seems most likely. Jittery summer equity markets are scrutinising...

Q&A: ABN brings lifecycle concept to Britain.(Interview)
September 4, 2006... John Townley, director of UK insurance at ABN Amro Asset Management, talks to Frances Hughes. Q: In July ABN Amro launched its Capital Protected Lifecycle funds. What is the lifecycle concept? A: The concept is quite simple. It is a...

FEATURE: Best behaviour.
September 4, 2006... Investors are often more influenced by herd instinct or personal bias than logic or expert analysis. Vanessa Drucker explains how understanding behavioural finance can help financial planners convince clients to act more responsibly. ...

Investor personality types.
September 4, 2006... It may sound like a party game, but investors can be divided into four basic personality types, according to Lynn Mander, senior vice president and director of research at Bryn Mawr Trust in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. "I can usually tell in a...

ANALYSIS: Standard life's hot property fund.
September 4, 2006... With its "go-anywhere" investment strategy, Standard Life's Select Property fund, managed by Andrew Jackson, has attracted more than #600m in investment since its launch last year. You are probably not that familiar with the name Andrew...

REVIEW: Attack on dogma lacks perspective.
September 4, 2006... This look at state regulation lacks analysis of how it has evolved to become the misanthropic beast it is today. However, it is a useful starting point to understanding the modern world. Deepak Lal, professor of international development...

FOCUS: Neptune shines in boutique universe.(Company overview)
September 4, 2006... Robin Geffen, founder of Neptune, says a strong team is key to all nine of its funds with three-year track records being in the first quartile of their sectors over that period. Adam Lewis reports. In August 2005, when Fund Strategy last...

AFI: Japan looks most attractive region.
September 4, 2006... AFI panelists are generally optimistic on Japanese equities, predicting they will outperform all other regions' stocks over the next three years - hence their inclusion in all three indices. The results of the first Adviser Fund Index...

FoFs: Gartmore awaits Japanese pay-off.
September 4, 2006... Much has happened to global equity markets since Fund Strategy last profiled the Gartmore MultiManager Active fund on March 13, 2006. But the themes dominating the fund now are much the same as they were six months ago. Launched in October...

Fund Manager's Diary: 16-22 August 2006.
September 4, 2006... Wednesday degrees Meet with the chief financial officer of Rolls Royce - a great company that has turned itself around over the past three to four years. A tense day for some of my colleagues with Chartered Financial Analyst results being...

COMMENT: Dynamic Asia poised to play a leading role.
September 11, 2006... This week's cover story by Daniel Ben-Ami looks at the key question of how Asia will be affected by an American economic slowdown (see page 18). The crux of the debate is whether Asia has "decoupled" from America or whether it is still...

Cru to unveil three Jersey portfolios.
September 11, 2006... Cru Investment Management, founded in May 2005 by Jon Maguire, former chairman of Sway, plans to launch three closed-ended Jersey funds providing investors with exposure to the private equity and private finance sectors. The funds will...

New Star's Miller to return to work next year.
September 11, 2006... Alan Miller, joint chief investment officer at New Star, is to take a sabbatical until the end of the year. According to New Star, Miller, who has been at the group throughout its five-year history, is taking time off to be with his family....

GAM launches Dublin-based Asian equity fund.
September 11, 2006... GAM has launched an Asian equity fund within its GAM Star umbrella fund range. GAM Star Asian Equity, managed by Hong Kong-based investment director Michael Lai, was launched on August 28 as a Dublin-domiciled Ucits fund. The portfolio...

IN BRIEF: Fidelity offers Oeic property fund.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Fidelity has launched an Oeic version of its Global Property Sicav fund. The Fidelity Global Property Oeic is available on the Cofunds, FundsNetwork, Lifetime and Transact platforms, and becomes accessible via Skandia this week. The fund,...

@Marlborough offers more fee discounts.
September 11, 2006... Marlborough Fund Managers has extended its anniversary celebration discount to two additional funds - UK Leading Companies and UK Micro- Cap Growth - until October 31. The 5% initial charge on the firm's Special Situations and UK Leading...

IN BRIEF: NDF growth plan matures early.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... NDF has revealed that its July 2005 Growth Plan is on track to mature early on October 12. If this occurs, investors will receive back their capital investment plus growth equivalent to 8.25% after just one year. The firm has also announced...

IN BRIEF: Forsyth gives Axa tech fund A rating.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Forsyth-OBSR has awarded Nick Evans' Axa Framlington Global Technology fund an A rating for the first time. The ratings agency also made several changes following its August review meeting. Martin Currie Asia Pacific and Schroder UK Alpha...

IN BRIEF: Investec funds upgraded by S&P.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Standard & Poor's has upgraded Investec's onshore and offshore Global Energy funds, managed by Tim Guinness, from AA to AAA status, following its annual review of the Specialist sector. The onshore fund was launched in November 2004 and has...

IN BRIEF: Dollar ETFs available on LSE.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Investors can for the first time buy dollar-denominated exchange traded funds on the London Stock Exchange, following the launch of a multi- currency trading service. Dollar-based investors can now buy ETFs in the American markets without the...

M&G to merge four funds into two.
September 11, 2006... M&G has announced plans to merge the four funds run by Tom Dobell and Simon Murphy into two. Dobell's British Opportunities and Recovery portfolios will be combined, creating a fund with more than #2bn in assets. Murphy's #150m...

Axa Framlington to offer Japan small-cap trust.
September 11, 2006... Axa Framlington will launch a Japan smaller companies unit trust on September 29. The portfolio will be run by Chisako Hardie, who joined from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership in June. Since her arrival, Hardie has worked...

Schroders plans for European income investment trust.
September 11, 2006... Schroders is planning to launch a European income investment trust. The trust would complement its existing Schroder Oriental Income trust and be designed to take advantage of the growing dividend yields in Continental Europe. Schroders...

IN BRIEF: Threadneedle hires sales chief.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Threadneedle Investments has appointed Doug Gordon as its London investment sales director. When he joins Threadneedle in October he will take on responsibility for relationships with asset managers, major discretionary clients and stockbrokers...

IN BRIEF: Second good year for City trust.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... The City of London investment trust has reported a second successive year of double-digit share price total return and a third year of double-digit net asset value total return. Increased income has allowed the trust to increase its dividend...

IN BRIEF: Kleinwort unveils two new funds.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Kleinwort Benson has launched its Endeavour Absolute Return and Endeavour Balanced Total Return funds, each with a minimum investment level of #100,000. The multi-asset funds aim to deliver long-term performance relative to a cash-based...

Eaglet reports strong performance.
September 11, 2006... After two years' underperformance, Peter Webb's UK smaller companies #119m Eaglet Investment Trust had a strong first six months in 2006, according to its annual results. Despite only marginally outperforming its benchmark over the...

IMA presides over birth of platform committee.
September 11, 2006... Cofunds, Fidelity FundsNetwork, Skandia, Selestia and Standard Life have formed a platform committee. The body, which has been set up under the auspices of the Investment Management Association, is designed to represent the industry while...

First State to launch global and Asian property funds.
September 11, 2006... First State Investments will launch global and Asian property securities funds this week. The British-domiciled portfolios will be run by John Snowden, Colonial First State Global Asset Management's Sydney-based head of property securities, and...

IN BRIEF: HgCapital reports interim results.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... HgCapital Trust has announced its interim results for the six months ending June 30. Net asset value has increased by 12%, from 621.3 pence on December 31, 2005, to 696.1 pence. The total return to shareholders is up by 13.7%, compared with...

IN BRIEF: Canada Life hires wealth manager.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Canada Life has appointed Alain Wolffe as managing director of its wealth management division. In a newly created role, Wolffe, who moves from his existing position as wealth management executive director, has responsibility for the Isle of...

IN BRIEF: Ernst & Young joins Reits group.(Brief article)
September 11, 2006... Ernst & Young has joined the Reits and Quoted Property Group, the outfit behind the Reita campaign. The group, which comprises 31 companies, was established to raise awareness of real estate investment trusts, which will be introduced to...

IMF predicts global fall in metal prices.
September 11, 2006... Metal prices are likely to fall over the medium term, according to the latest twice-yearly World Economic Outlook from the International Monetary Fund.* New capacity coming on line looks set to reduce prices from their current high levels. ...

Baillie Gifford puts co-manager on High Yield Bond.
September 11, 2006... Baillie Gifford has appointed a co-manager on its #37m High Yield Bond fund to work alongside Ken Barker, its existing manager. Ben Thompson, who joined the group in 2001, will assist Barker, who has managed the portfolio since its launch in...

Societe Generale opens capital protected low-risk open-ended fund.
September 11, 2006... Societe Generale Corporate and Investment Banking (SGCIB) has launched a capital protected open-ended fund for lower-risk investors. Investors can redeem from and invest in SG Adequity Best Asset Protected fund on a daily basis during its...

Muslim investors set to boost demand for Islamic funds.
September 11, 2006... With the popularity of ethical funds increasing, there is growing interest in Islamic funds that comply with sharia law (Islamic principles). Under sharia law, investment in certain areas is forbidden. Companies that are involved in the...

TRENDS: Absolute returns need clarification.
September 11, 2006... The proliferation of absolute return funds, especially since the introduction of Ucits III, is set to continue, but investors need to be more aware of the differences in the products on the market. Over the past few years we have seen a...

STRATEGY: Slowdown fears have been overdone.
September 11, 2006... While the American and British economies are showing signs of slowing down, the extent of the deceleration has been overestimated - and it is a good time to invest in UK equities. Clear signs have already begun to emerge that the American...

FEATURE: Engine trouble.
September 11, 2006... Fears of an American slowdown are raising concern that flourishing Asian emerging market economies will likewise decelerate. But is the US still the most important driver of growth in the region? Daniel Ben-Ami reports. Fears of an American...

The American slowdown.
September 11, 2006... To some extent the impact of an American slowdown on Asia depends on the severity of the US downturn and the global economy more generally. Although there is much alarmist-sounding talk on the possibility of an American recession, few are...

ANALYSIS: Solid performance goes unnoticed.
September 11, 2006... Despite producing a return of more than 90% over the past five years, the Schroder Recovery fund, co-managed by Nick Kirrage and Kevin Murphy, has a low profile among retail investors. The battle for the cash lying in Fidelity Special...

Q&A: JPMorgan controls risk with cash benchmark.(Interview)
September 11, 2006... Talib Sheikh, manager of the newly launched JPM Balanced Total Return fund, talks to James Teasdale. Q: When did the JPM Balanced Total Return fund commence trading? A: The fund launched on September 1 and is now invested where we...

CHANNELS: Selestia promotes the benefits of online trade.
September 11, 2006... Bill Vasilieff, marketing director at Selestia, answers this week's questions from Frances Hughes. Q: In February 2005 there were 650 funds on the Selestia platform and you conducted business with 600 intermediaries. How many are there...

FOCUS: Jupiter evolution increases Asia focus.
September 11, 2006... Jupiter has made some changes to its UK equity team and boosted its Asia Pacific resources. It now plans to launch a China fund, to be run by new recruit Philip Ehrmann. Adam Lewis reports. Jupiter has been busy since Fund Strategy last...

AFI: Tech sector may be at a turning point.
September 11, 2006... Technology stocks have been out of favour with investors since the sector's collapse in 2001-2 - a fact reflected in the composition of the Adviser Fund Indices. But that could be about to change. Technology funds, which boomed and then...

FoFs: Aberdeen remains loyal to equities.
September 11, 2006... Mike Turner, manager of Aberdeen's Managed Portfolio, is bullish on the prospects for equities, despite market volatility. To this end, his team favours European and Pacific Basin stocks. The Aberdeen Managed Portfolio is a fettered fund...

Fund Manager's Diary: 28 August - 3 September 2006.
September 11, 2006... Monday Despite being a bank holiday I am in the office by 9am. It is a busy week and following a meeting last Friday with the management of Bodycote plc I would like to write a research note while it is fresh in my mind. Tomorrow we have our...

COMMENT: Global economy is being transformed.
September 18, 2006... Only a tiny number of people can enjoy pouring over economic statistics. But having an affinity for such figures has advantages. In particular it makes it easier to spot key social and economic trends before others. This is certainly true...

Schroders seeks go-ahead for change.
September 18, 2006... The board of the #244m Schroder UK Growth investment trust is writing to shareholders to propose changes to the portfolio to make it higher alpha in its nature. In addition the board wants to introduce a discount management policy, to...

SLI to launch retail version of Global fund.
September 18, 2006... Standard Life Investments is planning to launch a retail Oeic version of its Global Absolute Return Strategies product. The institutional fund, opened up to external investors last week, aims to outperform the London inter-bank offered...

IN BRIEF: US trust reveals annual results.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... The US Special Opportunities Trust, managed by the Renn Capital Group and Premier Fund managers, has announced its end-of-year results. The company's total return on net assets was 34.65%. The US Growth portfolio, managed by Renn, which...

IN BRIEF: Investec appoints two more analysts.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Investec has appointed two credit analysts to its fixed income team. Robert Montague has joined the firm from Societe Generale, to focus on the banking and insurance sectors. Tammy Lloyd, who has moved from the firm's business development...

IN BRIEF: Treasury beefs up FSA powers.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... The Treasury has announced legislation to enhance the Financial Services Authority's powers, in relation to recognised exchanges. The FSA will be able to veto rule changes proposed by exchanges that it considers disproportionate. The move is...

IN BRIEF: Five MLIM funds win A ratings.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has received A ratings for five of its European equity retail funds. The funds are: Merrill Lynch International Investment Funds European Growth and Continental European Growth, both run by Niall Gallagher, ML...

IN BRIEF: Premier and Baillie join EMX.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Premier Asset Management and Baillie Gifford have joined the EMX Message System. The system is designed to provide straight-through processing and supplies access to 3,000 funds. According to EMX, it routed one million messages and more than...

Friends Prov replicates Special Sits.
September 18, 2006... Friends Provident has created a fund that is designed to replicate the portfolio of Anthony Bolton's Fidelity UK Special Situations fund, which was split into two at the weekend. At present the life fund is only available to those who...

Foresight poised to launch venture capital trust.
September 18, 2006... Foresight Venture Partners is to launch a venture capital trust that will seek an annual running yield of 5%. Foresight Protected, a C-share offering from the existing Foresight 2 VCT, is seeking to raise #20m when it launches next month....

Liontrust announces investment process.
September 18, 2006... The Cashflow Solution is the fifth documented investment process used by Liontrust and, as first revealed in Fund Strategy (page 6, July 10, 2006), will focus on exploiting the inaccuracies of profit forecasting. This process, which is...

IN BRIEF: Societe Generale merges two teams.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... Societe Generale Asset Management is combining its teams in Paris and London to create a single product group. The group will be led by Eric Turjeman, director of equity management. It will consist of 37 portfolio managers and analysts, split...

IN BRIEF: Consumer Price Index rises 2.5%.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... The consumer price index rose by 2.5% in the year to August, compared with 2.4% in July, according to a National Statistics report released last week. The all-items retail prices index also rose, by 3.4%, up from 3.3%. According to the...

Aegon launches fund for retirement.
September 18, 2006... Aegon Asset Management has launched its Five for Life product, aimed at the retirement market, through its Dublin-based Aegon Scottish Equitable International arm. The product guarantees 5% of invested capital as an income each year for...

Abbey plans platform relaunch following upgrade.
September 18, 2006... Abbey Wealth Management has upgraded its wrap platform and plans to launch a new version in 2007. In response to feedback from its principal clients, Abbey has made 30 enhancements to its James Hay Wrap platform. The changes will go live...

Fund managers less gloomy as market sentiment improves.
September 18, 2006... Fund managers have become slightly less downbeat after three gloomy months, judging by the latest Merrill Lynch global survey. David Bowers, a consultant to Merrill Lynch and a joint managing director of Absolute Strategy Research, says:...

IN BRIEF: AITC poised to adopt new logo.(Brief article)
September 18, 2006... The Association of Investment Trust Companies will adopt a new logo on October 1, to coincide with its name change to the Association of Investment Companies. Since the changes were announced nearly 80 companies have joined the AITC, including...