Investment Adviser articles from August 2004

Investment Adviser archives from August 2004

Asante tilts to India in search of cheap stocks.
August 2, 2004... Following a sell-off in the Indian market, Framlington has moved to an overweight position on the country. Jonathan Asante, manager of the AGBP17.8m Framlington Emerging Market fund, said that he was keeping an eye on markets that could...

L&G's active funds push yet to pay off.
August 2, 2004... LEGAL & General Investment Management's drive on its actively managed funds has yet to bear fruit. In February, LGIM pledged to promote six of its actively managed equity funds to improve its UK equity performance. However, the...

Matrix looks to loan stocks for Income & Growth VCT.
August 2, 2004... Income will be the focus of a venture capital trust to be launched by Matrix Private Equity. Matrix has conducted a launch period for the new VCT, in which it hopes to raise AGBP30m for the trust. The Matrix Income & Growth VCT will...

Brazil is winner for Aberdeen.
August 2, 2004... A MIX of Brazilian stocks has helped Aberdeen's AGBP107.6m Emerging Markets fund post a strong performance. Over one and three years, the fund led the Equity Global Emerging Markets sector. In the past three months it proved successful at...

Isis' retail business up for first half.
August 2, 2004... ISIS Asset Management says levels of new retail new business rose in the first half of this year. Howard Carter, chief executive, said levels were "well up" on last year, indicating it was winning market share. He added that the investment...

Clerical puts Ucits-friendly funds to the test.
August 2, 2004... Clerical Medical is testing Ucits III--friendly funds to be added to its new Oeic, which launches this month. The funds are being tested with IFAs and will be ready for launch in 2005. The new funds are to be protected products...

'Frustrating' year takes shine off Lang approach.
August 2, 2004... JEREMY Lang is upbeat on his AGBP245m Liontrust First Growth fund despite poor three and 12-month performance. The fund has lost 8.6 per cent in the past three months, ranking it 328 out of 333 funds in the S&P Equity UK sector (all...

Emerging markets' bull run is over -- S&P.
August 2, 2004... THE five-year bull market for emerging market bond funds appears over, according to a fund manager survey by S&P. Standard & Poor's interviewed rated global emerging debt fund managers and found that most thought that dollar-denominated...

Two fund launches to follow Iimia deal.
August 2, 2004... The two new products will be fund of funds Oeics, investing in both closed- and open-ended funds. They will be "plain vanilla" rather than the existing products of boutique investment firm Iimia, which are more specialised and consist of...

M'borough to market Hargreave fund to IFAs.
August 2, 2004... MARLBOROUGH Fund Managers is planning to market the MFM Hargreave Hale UK High Income fund to advisers. The AGBP2m fund, run by Mark Whittaker, is only open to clients of stockbroker Hargreave Hale. But now Marlborough plans to bring...

Investec merges Dublin funds into onshore Oeic.
August 2, 2004... INVESTEC is to add four funds to its UK range by merging its Dublin-based Select funds into its UK Oeic. Provided that shareholders in the Dublin funds approve the merger, the AGBP159.96m Investec Global Bond, the AGBP275.72m Investec...

Willis Owen hits out at exploiting bancassurers.
August 2, 2004... IFA firm Willis Own has hit out at bancassurers for "exploiting" their customers by selling underperforming funds. It claimed that banks, buildings societies and insurance companies were abusing the relationship of trust they had with...

Precious metal funds fall: Lipper.
August 2, 2004... Precious metals and Asian funds lost their shine over six months, according to Lipper's latest market report. In its half-year survey of the pan-European fund market, the data provider revealed that UK-registered equity funds investing...

Franklin waits on price of gold to drop to $355Discounted Gift trust is set to be revamped.
August 2, 2004... Royal Skandia is revamping its Discounted Gift trust as property prices result in more people falling foul of inheritance tax. The new-look trust continues to offer investors the chance to immediately reduce their UK inheritance tax...

S&P, Forsyth review Investec funds.
August 2, 2004... SEVERAL Investec funds have been placed under review by ratings agencies Standard & Poor's and Forsyth OSBR. Last month, Investec saw the departure of Nick Mottram, Chris Carter and Nigel Dutson from Investec's global equity team, and...

Needle set to put fee on UK Limited.
August 2, 2004... Threadneedle plans to introduce performance fees on more aggressive funds in the future, according to its product development director. The investment group said that it intended to impose a performance fee on its AGBP15.6m UK Limited Issue...

Currie's Ferriani turns to Singapore.
August 2, 2004... Improvement in Singaporean domestic stocks is a key driver of further Asian growth, according to a Martin Currie fund manager. Slim Ferriani, manager of the group's global emerging markets portfolios, said the AGBP30m Martin Currie...

Discounted Gift trust is set to be revamped.
August 2, 2004... Royal Skandia is revamping its Discounted Gift trust as property prices result in more people falling foul of inheritance tax. The new-look trust continues to offer investors the chance to immediately reduce their UK inheritance tax...

Fefsi calls for acceleration of European fund market.
August 2, 2004... Fefsi, the Europe-wide investment industry body, is calling for the acceleration of a single market in Europe for investment funds. Wolfgang Mansfield, president of the Federation Europeene des Fonds et Societes d'Investissement, which is...

Europe embraces absolute return funds.
August 2, 2004... Absolute return products are taking off in Europe, according to the president of Federation Europeene des Fonds et Societes d'Investissement. Wolfgang Mansfeld said that demand for equity funds had slowed down considerably over the last...

Commission trail gets 6 month stay of execution.
August 2, 2004... INVESTMENT firms have got six months to save trail commissions. Every sector of the financial services industry will be asked to come up with a strategy after MPs branded trail commission unacceptable. The Treasury select committee has...

Invesco's Japan gets defensive.
August 2, 2004... Invesco Perpetual's Paul Chesson has adopted a more concentrated and defensive portfolio for his Japan fund. The manager of Invesco Perpetual's AGBP122.4m Japan fund disagrees with those who argue Japan's recovery is sustainable with...

Framlington picks Balfour.
August 2, 2004... BAILLIE Gifford's Anja Balfour is the new manager of Framlington's Japan fund. This followed the departure last week of manager David Mitchinson. Ms Balfour, who managed Baillie Gifford's AGBP69.8m Japan fund with Hamish Dingwall, will...

Investors are unconfident on foreign stocks: JPMF.
August 2, 2004... A survey of investors by JPMorgan Fleming has highlighted a lack of knowledge on overseas investing. The JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management survey showed that many potential investors were sceptical of stock markets in countries they were...

Philbin drops holding in Omam's Corporate Bond.
August 2, 2004... Richard Philbin has sold the Isis AGBP35.8m Multi-Manager Balanced fund's holding in Old Mutual's AGBP172.3m Corporate Bond fund. The manager of the fund of funds switched out of the Old Mutual fund, which accounted for 1.6 per cent of the...

Tax treatment will be Reit's stumbling block -- L&G.
August 2, 2004... DESIGNING tax treatments of real estate investment trusts will prove the most difficult for the government, according to Legal & General. In its submission to the Treasury responding to the consultation paper, Promoting more flexible...

3i offers its Euro Tech investors chance to exit.
August 2, 2004... 3i's European Technology trust, which has fallen over 80 per cent since inception in April 2000, is offering shareholders the opportunity to exit. The board is proposing to launch a tender offer for 50 per cent of its share capital at net...

JPMF makes Walker lead manager of Overseas trust.
August 2, 2004... Ed Walker has been appointed the lead manager of JPMorgan Fleming Asset Management's Overseas trust. This follows the departure of Peter Harrison, who co-managed the AGBP371.4m trust with Mr Walker, to Deutsche Asset Management. Mr...

Iimia moves to zeros ahead of AITC rejig.
August 2, 2004... Nick Greenwood has invested more than a fifth of his AGBP21.3m Iimia investment trust in zero dividend preference shares. He is anticipating a significant re-rating in the AITC (Split Cap) Zero Dividend Preference Share sector, driven by...

Lifetime's wrap threat from JPM.
August 2, 2004... LIFETIME's launch of a wrap platform could be hit by the wind-up of JPMorgan-owned aggregator FundsHub. FundsHub, which was set to act as fund aggregator for Lifetime, could close after a collapse in discussions between owner JPMorgan and...

PAL plans to roll out a Ssas service.
August 2, 2004... PENSIONS Associates Limited is to launch a Ssas analysis service once the full details of the Pensions Bill are published. The London-based IFA company is developing software capable of producing a report detailing a list of options a small...

Japan and UK in growth potential.
August 2, 2004... JAPANESE and UK markets offer opportunities as do higher-quality growth stocks, according to Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. MLIM says that in a climate of rising rates, slowing economic momentum and market volatility, high-quality...

Mayfair cuts back retail property.
August 2, 2004... Mayfair Capital is reducing its exposure to retail property because of fears about the sector. It is selling its Weaverthorpe retail warehouse in Bradford in a move that will see a 75 per cent return on the original investment. James...

Net sales down in June as public ditches retail.
August 2, 2004... Private investors, dealing directly with asset managers, fled retail funds in June, driving a hefty fall in net sales. Net retail sales fell more than 80 per cent in June to AGBP159m from AGBP870m in June 2003, according to the latest...

Niche financial stocks lure US fund managers.
August 2, 2004... US fund managers are moving to niche financial stocks as they struggle for opportunities in North America. Managers such as Gartmore's Gil Knight, Close Finsbury's Ed Walczak and Tilney's Nicholas Roe-Ely have moved to take advantage of...

Balanced funds' small rises continue in Q2.
August 2, 2004... POOLED balanced pension funds continued to make small gains in the second quarter of 2004. Research by Russell/Mellon revealed a positive picture for pooled balanced pension funds with the offerings achieving a median return of 0.7 per...

MLIM set to rebrand UK Value.
August 2, 2004... Merrill Lynch has changed the manager of its UK Value fund and wants to rename it UK Special Situations. The rebranding of the fund will take the fund away from a pure value approach, opening it up to invest in growth stocks. Richard...

Cofunds set to rethink fees after L&G tie-up.
August 2, 2004... by ed monk Cofunds will negotiate potential increased charges for fund managers following the launch of life and pension products on the platform. The fund supermarket announced last week that it would provide life and pensions...

MFS opens up 15 funds in UK push.
August 2, 2004... MFS International will target the top-end of the wealth market when it brings its Luxembourg fund range to the UK. The Boston-based fund group plans to capitalise on recent rule changes to distributor status, announced in the Budget this...

Winterthur leads annuity exodus.
August 2, 2004... WINTERTHUR Life is far from being alone in wanting to ditch annuity business, according to the insurer's former boss. Clifton Melvin, former chief executive of Winterthur Life, said during his reign the firm made its annuity rate...

Father Bob gets set to rock the house.
August 2, 2004... Bob White, of Credit Suisse Asset Management, does a lot of work for charity. The firm's compliance director will don clergy robes and lead a rock 'n roll revival at the Dorchester Hotel where his band, the Deadbeats, will be performing at the...

Preparing for all emergencies...
August 2, 2004... Chris Fox, the president of the Association of Chief Police Officers commented last week that Britain's convenience culture has made people unprepared for a national emergency. This is in light of the government delivering a 22-page pamphlet to...

Banking on the mediocrity trap.
August 2, 2004... One should be sceptical of research that comes out in favour of those who commissioned the work. But, looking at recent examples from IFAs Dennehy Weller and Willis Owen, arguing for independent advice and asset management and against the large...

From popstars to presidential bonds.
August 2, 2004... To follow up on last week's Diary story on the J-Lo curve, this week we dip into the celebrity glitz and glamour that is the world of fixed interest. We feature a former US President. According to that fountain of all knowledge,...

On their own, armed with flexibility and autonomy.
August 2, 2004... Investment Adviser: Could you tell me about Isosceles Asset Management? Gary Lowe: Dale Gibson and I set up Isosceles Asset Management in March. Our first product into the marketplace was the Isosceles America fund, a Dublin-registered...

Baby boomers ate my pension.
August 2, 2004... Articles about the baby boomer generation generally talk of the hope that this generation has brought to the world and their continued positive contribution to our collective future. This is not one of those articles. The progeny of the baby...

A question of faith, hope and confidence.
August 2, 2004... How confident about the markets are you? The answer may tell us something about the prospects for share prices. The theory, of course, is that the greater the confidence of investors in general, the more likely it is that share prices will...

Value added to the dividend debate.
August 2, 2004... Microsoft has made plenty of headlines over the past few weeks with its plans to distribute a $32bn special dividend to shareholders. The total payout set for the next four years amounts to some $75bn. This is laudable stuff, not least because...

Williams stands out in the small crowd.
August 2, 2004... Some of the biggest risers in the small-cap market last year have struggled to keep up the trend this year. A lot has to do with profit taking in many areas of the smaller companies market, and this has been to the advantage of one small-cap...

Variety is the spice of life.
August 2, 2004... It is an annoying fact, but while every investor knows that past performance is no guide to future returns, the most successfully sold funds of the modern era are nearly always those with the best recent performance. The financial services...

Investment for all seasons?
August 2, 2004... This year, some distribution funds will be celebrating their 10th anniversaries. These birthdays will be well worth celebrating as the popularity of these funds goes from strength to strength, if sales volumes are any indication. There are...

A contribution that will make a difference.
August 2, 2004... Compensation for victims of failed defined benefit schemes is a worthy cause but much of the current debate over the Pension Protection fund and lifeboat provisions of the Pensions bill clings to the notion that DB is a viable model for the...

Flexibility helps soften the fall.
August 2, 2004... In financial markets, uncertainty goes under the name of volatility, or how much asset prices are moving around. Although there is still some optimism among investors and fund managers alike, this positive sentiment is at risk to shocks,...

Failing to keep its promise.
August 2, 2004... By Ashutosh Kumar If the definition of the Asset Allocation Global Flexible sector is anything to go by, this hybrid funds sector could be an ideal choice for investors seeking a better-safe-than-sorry positioning in this investment...

Adopting a low-risk approach to holdings.
August 2, 2004... The AGBP52m Ashburton Sterling Asset Management fund, which was launched on 1 January 1992, is managed by Ashburton Fund Managers of St Helier and domiciled in Jersey. The managers benchmark their performance against the Lipper International...

calvin vaudin - manager comment.
August 2, 2004... ASHBURTON has run the Sterling Asset Management fund since January 1992. I have run the pan-European equity portion of the fund since I joined the firm 10 years ago. The asset allocation committee of three decides on the top-down,...

Young, free and single.
August 2, 2004... Long gone are the days when people had their lives mapped out: leave school, work or study, meet the man or woman of your dreams, get married, have kids and grow old together. Today, there are no such expectations and, as a result, many people...

Variety fails to stop the sector sliding.
August 2, 2004... Despite their ability to invest in a wide range of asset classes, none of the 36 funds in the Asset Allocation Global Flexible sector analysed below have managed to register positive returns, according to data from FT Fund Ratings. Furthermore,...

Let's stop using the US excuse.
August 2, 2004... The second quarter of the year was difficult for successful funds in general, and my recommendations in particular. The upturn in US interest rates have put the world's major market into reverse and provided an opportunity for bearish excuses...

FA Expo registration levels rise.
August 2, 2004... CLOSE to 1000 delegates have registered for this year's Financial Adviser Expo trade fair, held in association with Abbey for Intermediaries. The trade fair is expected to attract more than 2000 registrations in total. The two events,...

Iimia works for August Aim listing.
August 2, 2004... The newly enlarged Iimia Investment Group is expected to list on the Aim market on 11 August. This follows the merger between Iimia and Exeter. Some 62 new Iimia Investment Group shares have been offered for every 100 Exeter shares. ...

Omam's Dynamic launch to have 'go anywhere' remit.
August 2, 2004... Old Mutual's Dynamic Bond fund will invest across the credit and duration spectrum, dependent on market conditions and interest rates. All manner of debt, from government to sub-investment grade, and index-linked and convertible, will be...

Grey's matter.
August 2, 2004... Demographics have always played a very large part in determining economic growth. Several years ago, I was told that the way to make money was to invest in economies with a rapidly growing "young" population. This was, of course, true of...

IPO market one for buyers: First State.
August 2, 2004... THE initial public offering market has become a "buyers' market", according to Paul Jourdan, First State's smaller companies fund manager. This is because several company IPOs this year have had a cold reception, forcing new firms that are...

New man Williams to step into Webb's shoes.
August 2, 2004... Andrew Williams has been named the new head of distribution after working in the UK for just over one year. Prior to that, he was senior vice president of sales with Aim Trimark in Canada where he worked closely with Mr Hain when he was...

Inter-Alliance, Millfield merger confirmed.
August 9, 2004... Inter-Alliance and Millfield have confirmed a merger deal to create a firm of almost 2000 IFAs. The deal, which took two months to complete, will mean Inter-Alliance's advisers will have access to the Lifetime wrap account, to be launched...

IMA looks at supermarket sales figures.
August 9, 2004... FUND supermarket sales figures may be revamped to include a breakdown of packaged versus individual unit trusts. The Investment Management Association confirmed that it was in the middle of processing a survey that had included a question...

Poor stocks pushing investments down.
August 9, 2004... Investment opportunities in Europe are few and far between, according to a Gartmore European equity manager. Gary Clarke, manager of the AGBP53.8m Gartmore European focus fund, launched last year, said the investment environment was proving...

New Schroder manager revamps unsettled pair.
August 9, 2004... Adam Cordery has overhauled the Schroder Corporate Bond and Schroder Monthly High Income funds since taking their reins in early July. Mr Cordery took over the funds from Jamie Stuttard. Both have had an unsettled management history,...

PolicyPlus seizes global chance.
August 9, 2004... TEP provider PolicyPlus is to accelerate expansion following the closure of rivals Beale Dobie and Policy Portfolio. Following the two withdrawals from the market last week, PolicyPlus has seized the opportunity to expand both in UK and...

DWS takes sponsorship of FA Expo.
August 9, 2004... Track Two of Financial Adviser Expo 2004 is being sponsored by DWS Investments. The fund manager, who has supported the event by exhibiting in previous years, has also taken a stand this year and is sending some of its top investment...

Increased competition will be death of hedges: Pimco.
August 9, 2004... Overpriced products and increasing competition will lead to the eventual demise of the hedge fund, according to Pimco. William Gross, managing director at the US-based fixed-income manager, said that greed for higher returns would lead to...

Legg optimistic over US equities' resurrection.
August 9, 2004... Legg Mason's Mary Chris Gay has predicted a resurrection of good returns from US equities in the future. Positive signs on consumer spending, strong free cashflows, attractive valuations and growing earnings are all reasons to be...

Oil, gas and technology catch Scot Wid's eye.
August 9, 2004... Scottish Widows' emerging markets fund manager is keeping a keen eye on oil and gas despite troubles at Yukos. Kim Catechis, manager of the AGBP406.3m Swip Emerging fund, said that he would look to add exposure to energy firms in Brazil,...

Needle digs out coal stock to fuel US fund.
August 9, 2004... Threadneedle's energy analysts have dug out a coal stock to fuel performance in its American fund, according to the manager. Andrew Holliman, manager of the group's AGBP681.1m American fund, said that the group's analysts had picked out...

Axa to widen retail fixed interest range.
August 9, 2004... AXA Investment Managers is to produce an Oeic to give retail investors access to 30 of its currently purely institutional funds. The Oeic would offer a range of specialist fixed interest, long dated corporate bond, index linked gilt and...

Abbey plans on launches.
August 9, 2004... ABBEY plans to launch more structured investment products for intermediaries this year. The bank closed its first Abbey-branded, intermediary-only Growth Options Plan to investment last month. Nick Kelly, head of investment product...

HSBC chief slams advice.
August 9, 2004... THE chief executive of HSBC has attacked the commission-based financial advice model. Michael Geoghegan has ruled out collaborations with IFAs and rejected commission models. Mr Geoghegan, who became chief executive of the UK arm of...

Philbin is prepared to add risk.
August 9, 2004... Isis fund of fund manager Richard Philbin is prepared to add risk in the form of focus funds within his multi-managed range. Mr Philbin will up the exposure to concentrated portfolios within his AGBP12.1m Isis Multi-Manager Distribution,...

Axa bond widens its fund access.
August 9, 2004... AXA's Premium Select Bond now offers access to 80 external funds, as well as 20 investment funds. External fund managers available to investors include Anthony Bolton at Fidelity, John Dodd at Artemis, Alastair Mundy at Investec, Roger Guy...

Merger sees Isis adopt F&C's research model.
August 9, 2004... This follows reports that F&C is taking the lion's share of the key investment management positions in the enlarged firm, with Isis losing its brand and two board members as the merger's first casualties. These were Robert Talbut, who was...

Japanese revival still has legs: Henderson.
August 9, 2004... Disappointing figures for Japanese industrial production should not be taken as a sign that its recovery is slowing, according to Henderson. In its latest report, the investment group highlighted that industrial output in Japan fell by 1.3...

Regulator defends use of 'guaranteed' in booklets.
August 9, 2004... REGULATORS have fended off allegations that it mis-led investors over pension transfers. The Financial Services Authority is fighting attempts to force it, along with the Treasury, to offer compensation, after advising in a booklet that...

Norwich lobbies Treasury.
August 9, 2004... It is understood that NU is eager to press for a change in Oeic rules to prevent inconsistencies when Inland Revenue rule changes come into force in 2005. From then, it will be possible to invest in with profit funds inside a life...