Investment Adviser articles from August 2007

Investment Adviser archives from August 2007

Investors warned not to move out of bonds.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Investors' decision to shed their fixed income exposure considered to be mis-timed fixed income Retail investors could be mis-timing their move out of the safety of fixed income funds, as equity market volatility continues to...

Witan offers equities for shares swap.
August 6, 2007... equities Witan's AGBP1.5bn multi-manager investment trust is offering investors a chance to exchange their unwanted equities for Witan shares free of charge. Through the share exchange, investors will be able to consolidate their...

Obstacles could block path to a Friends Financial merger.
August 6, 2007... The giant Friends Financial merger is looking less certain this week, following opposition from Resolution shareholder Pearl and reports of Zurich eyeing Friends Provident. Industry speculation was rife last week about how the proposed...

Fund rescue falls flat.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Marsico's overhaul of Gartmore US Opportunities fund struggles in the first month performance Gartmore's troubled AGBP192.1m US Opportunities fund has underperformed its IMA peer group for the first month since its portfolio...

Readers rush to join Fantasy Rugby fray.
August 6, 2007... Only one week into the F&C rugby World Cup competition and entries are flooding in. Whether it is because of the fun of building a World Cup team when you should be reading the latest FSA newsletter or the prospect of winning the first...

M&G manager takes on role in CDO team.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Firm says Fancourt's move from high yield bond funds not related to underperformance Manager change David Fancourt, the manager of M&G's AGBP1bn High Yield Corporate Bond fund and the AGBP61.1m European High Yield Bond fund has...

Ingenious raises AGBP18.49m for 2008 music festivals.
August 6, 2007... Ingenious Live VCTs has raised AGBP18.49m to promote open-air concerts and music festivals in summer 2008. The company announced last Wednesday that it had raised the money, making it one of the largest specialist VCT funds launched in the...

Turmoil in high yield market takes its toll.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Global issuance of investment grade bonds plummets to its lowest rate in three years bonds Global issuance of investment-grade bonds fell to the lowest rate for three years in July, sparking fears the recent turmoil in high...

IFAs say income products fail to meet investor needs.
August 6, 2007... Nine out of ten IFAs do not believe their clients are getting suitable income products, a survey has suggested. Ninety-three per cent of IFAs questioned by fund of funds manager Way Group said the income needs of investors were not being...

Gold, resources may be shelter in storm.
August 6, 2007... Gold and resources funds could offer investors a safe option away from the trouble caused by the US sub-prime shutdown and rising inflation, according to Smith & Williamson. The company said: "We believe support for gold and resources will...

Dalton rejigs Melchoir fund portfolio.
August 6, 2007... portfolio construction Dalton Strategic Partnership has restructured the portfolio of its AGBP8m Melchior Sterling Global Opportunities fund, changing the geographic equity focus to take advantage of areas such as Canada. The fund runs...

Thesis goes to movies with its latest product.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Specialist fund manager launches closed-ended vehicle investing in indie films Launch Thesis Asset Management is stepping into the film world with the launch of a closed-ended vehicle. The specialist fund manager is...

S&P upgrades for world investments.
August 6, 2007... Standard & Poor's has upgraded a range of equity and bond funds that invest around the world. The Allianz RCM US Equity and the Bluebay Emerging Market Local Currency Bond funds have been awarded AA, while the American Express European...

Iimia Investment acquires IFA John Miln & Company.
August 6, 2007... Iimia Investment Group has announced the acquisition of south-west based IFA John Miln & Company. John Miln & Company has in excess of AGBP200m of assets under advice. The company was founded by John Miln in 1983. Following the company's...

Ermitage Group rolls out a long-short fund.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Product to offer consistent returns in bull markets and protection in bear markets Launch Ermitage Group has entered the UK retail space with a long-short fund that offers global access. The product, which is the latest...

Moore to manage Threadneedle fund.
August 6, 2007... Threadneedle has announced Stephen Moore will manage its new 130/30 fund, which will go live in the fourth quarter of 2007. Mr Moore has specialised in US equities for around 10 years, and will tilt the portfolio accordingly. The fund is to...

Old Mutual set to put its products under the knife.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Asset manager plans major overhaul of its range, including mergers and converting all unit trusts to Oeics restructure Old Mutual has announced plans to convert all its unit trusts to Oeics and merge several of its vehicles as...

London & Capital appoints three staff to property team.
August 6, 2007... London & Capital is seeking to boost the performance of its real estate funds by appointing three new team members. The investment company has recruited Alison Yard from Arlington Property Investors to become its head of real estate funds....

Retail takes hedge style tips.
August 6, 2007... management technique The boundary between institutional and retail investment has blurred, according to the IMA's latest industry survey. Richard Saunders, chief executive of the IMA, cited the emergence of alternative vehicles such as...

Smaller IFAs face struggle.
August 6, 2007... consolidation Smaller IFA firms will soon begin to merge with their larger rivals, as they defend themselves from going out of business, JPMorgan Asset Management has predicted. The group conducted a survey of more than 200 IFAs and...

Rab to make splash with latest fund trio.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Rab Capital to launch funds mirroring European Dynamic and aiming for 15 per cent launch Hedge fund specialist Rab Capital is looking to make waves in the UK retail market, with the launch of three new funds. Aimed at UK...

Martin Currie plans TMT fund.
August 6, 2007... launch Martin Currie is planning to launch two specialist funds within the next 18 months as part of its plan to surpass the AGBP2bn under management mark. The group is building a model TMT fund to see how the manager fares, which...

Alliance says small cap value prevails.
August 6, 2007... Smaller companies are continuing to benefit from the strong UK economy, thanks to an increase in infrastructure spending, Alliance Trust has said. Despite the strong bull run the sector has had over the last few years, the group said there...

James Hay adds Lloyds TSB offshore funds to platform.
August 6, 2007... James Hay has added 16 Lloyds TSB offshore funds to its wrap platform. It now has 1228 available funds from 53 different providers. The new offshore funds include the Asian Pacific, Capital Growth, European, Gilt, High Income,...

Pensioner wins case against asset manager.
August 6, 2007... Byline: The High Court orders Scottish Equitable to pay retiree damages over mis-selling regulation A High Court judgement on mis-selling by Scottish Equitable is likely to send shockwaves through the financial services industry. ...

OPM converts UK Equity into hybrid.
August 6, 2007... Recently re-branded group Only Performance Matters Fund Management is set to overhaul its UK Equity fund in a bid to boost performance. Richard Carswell, business development manager for the group, said it was currently in the process of...

Barclays structured.
August 6, 2007... Barclays Capital has launched a structured deposit account that offers investors exposure to global equities, global hedge funds, European property and global commodities. The five-year product is 100 per cent capital guaranteed, with a...

AQ finds UK earnings are difficult to predict.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Research reveals that corporate earnings in Switzerland are the easiest to forecast Results UK blue-chip companies have been found to have the lowest average earnings predictability compared to some of their major European...

Baillie Gifford warns Japan small caps sell-off 'severe'.
August 6, 2007... The sell-off on Japanese small caps over the past six months has been "severe and indiscriminate", according to Baillie Gifford. John MacDougall, portfolio manager for the firm's AGBP73.3m Shin Nippon unit trust, said that his team was...

FSA confirms its new guidelines for conduct.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Regulator will clearly state requirements, but offer more direction on how they are met regulation The FSA has published its guidelines on what to expect when its new conduct of business sourcebook is released in November this...

Iimia funds place confidence in 'untouchable' mega caps.
August 6, 2007... Iimia Investment Managers remains bullish on mega caps, according to fund manager Daniel Lockyer. In April, Mr Lockyer's AGBP23.9m Income fund and Richard Scott's AGBP66.5m Growth & Income fund dropped their hedges against a fall in the...

L&G boasts 18 per cent sales growth.
August 6, 2007... Legal & General has announced strong half year growth in its wealth management arm. Total sales were up 18 per cent in the first six months of 2007 compared with the same period last year. Pension sales were also up by 38 per cent and...

Equity questions divide opinion.
August 6, 2007... UK Equities Analysts are divided over the knock-on effects of turmoil in high yield and corporate credit markets on equities. Simon Ballard, credit strategist for ABN Amro, said the most immediate threat was in the decline of leveraged...

Close's property FoF raises defence shields.
August 6, 2007... property Close Investments has restructured the portfolio of its specialist property fund of funds to defend itself against the falling market. It will take on short to medium term defensive attributes by reducing gearing and...

Thames submerged in share applications.
August 6, 2007... Thames River has received AGBP70.3m of applications for subscription of C shares in its fund, Thames River Hedge Plus. Dealing in the C shares began on 20 July. Thames River Hedge Plus aims to achieve absolute returns of more than 10...

L&G links two products to Cazenove multi-manager.
August 6, 2007... Legal & General has linked the AGBP77.1m Cazenove Multi-Manager Diversity fund to its L&G Portfolio Bond and Portfolio Plus Sipp. The Cazenove product aims to provide steady returns without excessive reliance on equities. About 33 per...

Several sectors suffer major June outflows.
August 6, 2007... Byline: IMA figures show that UK All Companies sector bled AGBP153.9m in client assets Results The (IMA) UK All Companies sector suffered outflows of AGBP153.9m from retail investors during June, IMA figures have revealed. Other...

Co-op rebrands in bid to broaden its appeal.
August 6, 2007... Byline: CFS switches core funds to Cofunds platform to encourage responsible investing Launch Co-operative Financial Services has launched a new brand name and taken its three core funds to the Cofunds platform in a bid to widen its...

Analyst welcomes Meteor Prima Growth product.
August 6, 2007... Structured product analyst Future Value Consultants Research has said Meteor's Prima Growth plan is nearly 70 per cent likely to generate an annual return of 5 per cent to 10 per cent. The recently-launched structured product is a six-year...

Miton plans versions of Arcturus product.
August 6, 2007... launch Miton Optimal Asset Management is considering launching medium and high-risk versions of its AGBP21.7m Arcturus product, following positive returns since its launch in November 2006. Arcturus was one of the first non-Ucits...

New Star takes on grade A buildings.
August 6, 2007... New Star Asset Management has acquired two grade A office buildings for its AGBP2.1bn Property trust. It has bought Governor House, an office building just off Cannon Street in London, and Dundas House, a newly developed office building in...

Invista looks abroad.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Real estate company prepares to launch Opportunities fund by the end of the year Reits Invista Real Estate Investment Management is preparing for the launch of an Opportunities fund by the end of the year. The management...

Bears and Bulls have the answers.
August 6, 2007... Byline: With a possible seasonal crisis looming, why not sit back and talk to Gartmore? If you wanted to be bearish about global markets, how would you go about it? That may seem like an unlikely issue for someone who has been bullish on...

Iimia aims to deliver 'real world' results.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Multi-manager's key philosophy is to make money irrespective of the benchmark fund of funds Delivering money back to investors irrespective of traditional benchmarks is the key philosophy behind Iimia's multi-manager...

Trust specialism on the way to activism.
August 6, 2007... Owing to the Iimia group's specialism in unit trusts, the buy discipline could almost be described as activist investing, according to the group. "We arbitrage between perception and reality," Nick Greenwood said. "A lot of the time...

Close sub-funds set to dive into property sea.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Two sub-funds will complement Closepip and target UK and European real estate fund launch Close Investments is planning to launch two new sub-funds to complement its AGBP169m property fund of funds Closepip. Closepip...

CGT deal is near, says IMA.
August 6, 2007... taxation The IMA is in the final stages of sealing a tax agreement with the Treasury, which it hopes will stem the flow of assets offshore. The industry association is looking to clarify that UK authorised investment funds should be...

Global Titans adopts new title, mandate.
August 6, 2007... restructure BlackRock has switched the mandate and title of its AGBP73.4m Merrill Lynch Global Titans fund. The move comes as manager Richard Turnill passes the baton to Andrew Williamson-Jones. The product will now be called the...

James Charrington.
August 6, 2007... Investment Adviser: It has been over a year since the BlackRock merger with Merrill Lynch. How do you feel the business has evolved in this time? James Charrington: These two companies had very little overlap in terms of geography, distribution...

Williams de Broe plans to add two funds to its arsenal.
August 6, 2007... launch Two new products are set to hit the market from Williams de Broe before the year's end. The investment company has begun testing a new UK equity long only fund and a structured fund of funds. The UK equity vehicle will be...

Put safety first.
August 6, 2007... Byline: How much longer before a catalyst brings the market to its knees? Investors who redeemed out of fixed income funds would have pondered last week if their decision to leave those safety nets was ill timed. Fixed income funds...

What destiny awaits European firms?
August 6, 2007... Byline: The differences between companies will be crucial to the global trade liberalisation process Europe is supposed to become the world's most competitive knowledge-based economy. Improving Europe's competitiveness is a complex and...

Aiming for a truly international market?
August 6, 2007... Byline: Aim looks set to take its place as the market of choice for companies from all over the globe One theme which has emerged from this year's Taking Aim survey, published by Baker Tilly and Faegre & Benson LLP, is the marked increase...

Playing a veritable wait and see game.
August 6, 2007... Byline: The problems in the credit market have now spread to equities, but just how serious is it? Another week, another market wobble. The 311 point decline in the Dow Jones Industrial Average on 26 July seemed dramatic at the time. But...

Two decades of poor results.
August 6, 2007... IA often rings round a few IFAs to see whether anything interesting has come up in the market, and although responses can be mixed, one adviser said they had not seen anything interesting since 1983. Jeremy Hulbert of Hulbert Financial...

Investec hits the big screen... ish.
August 6, 2007... Diary cannot quite believe it is advertising an advert, but we were intrigued to learn that Investec Asset Management's promotion on the telly was an industry first. Do the Scottish Widows and UBS ads not count as a "specialist asset...

HSBC wins custody battle.
August 6, 2007... Splitting up with your partner can mean dividing the CD collection and having a tiff over who bought the TV. But when Andy Clarke, managing director of wholesale for HSBC, broke up with his lady, he thought he got the best deal when it came to...

When the going gets tough...
August 6, 2007... ... The tough book a holiday. Or that certainly seems to be the motto in the Fidelity press office, when an unnamed member of the team revealed that they would be taking off the first two weeks in September to deliberately avoid the industry's...

Exploring new frontiers.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Emerging markets' high returns have spurred interest in the N-11 and new frontier countries Emerging markets have been a major contributor to global growth over the last five years, with returns far outpacing that of the developed...

EIS seduces the younger men.
August 6, 2007... Byline: The most common EIS investor is a younger male with an eye on tax protection Enterprise investment schemes have traditionally been used by older people, typically in their 50s or 60s, as a means of sheltering from both capital...

Gregory takes on new PSigma role.
August 6, 2007... PSigma Asset Management's AGBP8.7m UK Income and Growth fund is to lose manager Tim Gregory as he departs to focus on the group's private client business, PSigma Investment Management. PSigma, which confirmed last week that it would be...

Drawing attention.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Platforms make their presence felt with their impact on the industry On 27 June, the FSA released a discussion document called Platforms: the role of wraps and fund supermarkets. But why are platforms attracting so much interest,...

Global Growth finds financials irresistible.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Few Global Growth funds dissent on having large financials holdings Many fund managers would find it distasteful to be called a benchmark hugger, but some managers in the Global Growth sector may have to get used to the idea. ...

Time for giants to shine.
August 6, 2007... As we have pointed out in the past, the valuations of large-cap equities, taken on average, appear more attractive than those of mid and small cap equities. Historically, small and mid cap companies have traded at lower valuations than...

Active managers who stand out from the herd.
August 6, 2007... Byline: St James's Place investment head Andrew Humphries talks to Laura Mossman about why a bottom up approach is favoured With all of the funds at St James's Place outsourced to third-party management teams, it is important for the...

Going down the environmental path pays off.
August 6, 2007... The Jupiter Ecology was rather ahead of its time when it began investing in companies that have positive growth supported by trends in environmental and social policies in the late 1980s, but today it is one of the many green investment options...

For some, bigger is always considered to be better.
August 6, 2007... Byline: THS International Growth and Value fund manager John Hodson talks to Laura Mossman about maintaining a large cap bias The THS International Growth and Value fund is not usually on IFAs' radars as it is primarily an institutional...

Building success from small companies' growth.
August 6, 2007... McInroy & Wood was first established in 1986, running private client money on a discretionary basis. Out of that private client business a unit trust business was born with a series of pooled portfolio funds and, as an extension of that, the...

Developing markets commentary by Morningstar.
August 6, 2007... Byline: To research these funds online, see the interactive tool at: www.FTadviser.com Equity markets in developing countries produced another strong performance in the three month period to 30 July 2007, despite the steep downward trend...

Morley updates Asian portfolio investment process.
August 6, 2007... Morley Fund Management has changed the investment process of its 14 Asian portfolios. The portfolios, which include the AGBP62m Aviva Morley Asia-Pacific Equity fund and the AGBP930m Morley Emerging Markets Equity fund, had their...

Principal beefs up its retail offering.
August 6, 2007... strategy Principal Global Investors is to expand its range of retail equity products following structural changes to its European operation. On 30 July, Principal moved its European headquarters to new offices in London and appointed...

Property prices rise.
August 6, 2007... House prices rose by 0.7 per cent in July, according to figures from Halifax. The rise marked a steepening of the house price inflation curve, an increase on June's 0.4 per cent rise. The annual three-month rate in July also increased to...

Appointments.
August 6, 2007... - Morley has strengthened its fixed income research capability with the appointment of two quant analysts and a credit analyst who joined the team in June. Reporting to Upkar Kambo, who leads the fixed income quantitative team, new quant...

Votes are being 'lost'.
August 6, 2007... Byline: Working group calls on companies to take action on inadvertent share over-voting shareholder voting The shareholder voting system has come under fire in a new report, which claimed that poor representation is rife and votes are...

PIP returns rise.
August 6, 2007... Managed buyouts are fuelling returns for private equity investment trust Pantheon International Participations. In its report last Monday, PIP's net asset value per share and redemption value per redeemable share stood at 919.2p. The...

Jupiter Green Investment trust raises extra AGBP24.25m.
August 6, 2007... The Jupiter Green Investment trust has raised a further AGBP24.25m through its placement and offer of C shares. This latest issue increases the trust's size to almost AGBP60m and puts the company in line to reach its target holding of...

FoFs outshine single managers and MoMs.
August 13, 2007... Byline: Funds of funds almost consistently outperform single and manager of manager peers performance Funds of funds almost consistently outperform both single manager funds and manager of manager products, figures from Lipper...

Property security funds hit hard by sub-prime.
August 13, 2007... Byline: Managers claimed short-term performance was not a true indicator of the funds' value property Three of the five poorest performing funds during the month to the end of July 2007 were invested in property securities, according...

Team entries for Fantasy Rugby pile in.
August 13, 2007... It is only one week since the launch of the Fantasy Rugby World Cup competition in association with F&C, and already 250 teams have entered. There are prizes aplenty up for grabs including Nintendo Wiis, 40 inch LCD televisions and...

Deng set to run BAM China fund.
August 13, 2007... manager change The former manager of Standard Life Investments's AGBP4.8m China Equity fund, Agnes Deng, is to run Baring Asset Management's top performing AGBP1.9bn Hong Kong China fund following the departure of Lilian Co. Ms Deng...

Bespoke fund woes indicate need for care with derivatives.
August 13, 2007... derivatives Returns from a spiralling tracker fund are being seen as a warning of the potential for derivatives to backfire. The AGBP4.2m Bespoke IPD UK Monthly Index Tracker, which is administrated by Capita, returned a loss of 14.52...

S&P rolls out its IFCG Extended Frontier index.
August 13, 2007... Standard & Poor's has unveiled a new index for intrepid investors wanting exposure to lesser-known emerging markets. According to S&P, the new S&P/IFCG Extended Frontier 150 contains the largest and most liquid stocks from developing...

Investors pull back.
August 13, 2007... Investors are making a retreat to safety, with the (IMA) Money Market sector being the most popular route for investors using Barclays Stockbrokers. Investment through the group's Fund Market have revealed that over the last three months,...

Fidelity downgraded.
August 13, 2007... Byline: Standard & Poor's drops three Fidelity fund of funds products from AA to A rating Ratings Three of Fidelity's funds of funds have been downgraded by Standard & Poor's as a result of disappointing performance, the ratings...