Investment Adviser articles from December 2004

Investment Adviser archives from December 2004

Evershed remains bearish over oil stocks.
December 6, 2004... THE New Star Select Opportunities fund manager is maintaining his bearish outlook for oil stocks dismissing suggestions the dip in prices is temporary. In June Patrick Evershed, manager of the AGBP126m fund, took a contrarian view by...

Mitchinson moves to streamline Japan fund.
December 6, 2004... David Mitchinson intends to almost halve the number of holdings in his JPMF Japan fund over the coming months. The new manager of the AGBP160.1m fund, who was poached earlier this year from Framlington, said he has made "lots of progress"...

Severn steps into Smee's role at Aifa.
December 6, 2004... DAVID Severn has been appointed director general of the Aifa, replacing Paul Smee who left last Friday. Currently head of retail investment policy with the Financial Services Authority, Mr Severn will be seen by many in the industry to be...

Tributes pour in for Monckton.
December 6, 2004... Friends and colleagues are mourning the tragic death of John Monckton, Legal & General's managing director of bonds. Mr Monckton, 49, and his wife Homeyra were stabbed in their own home in Chelsea last Monday by intruders. Police now...

Bestinvest expands with SMA Group deal.
December 6, 2004... London-based investment specialist Bestinvest has acquired another IFA to expand its financial services capability. Last week, the SMA Group, which specialises in pensions and employee benefits, was bought for an undisclosed amount by...

Io Income & Growth fund changes name to Hichen.
December 6, 2004... THE Io Income & Growth fund has changed its name to incorporate Hichen, its management company. The re-branding spells the demise of Io as a name for a range of funds. The fund is now called the Hichen UK Income & Growth fund. The...

New menu will benefit clients, claims Needle.
December 6, 2004... THE transparent pricing introduced in the FSA's depolarisation menu system could result in new client opportunities, Threadneedle has claimed. Guy Beech, head of UK retail distribution for Threadneedle, said it would be obvious from the...

Depolarisation to kick-start wraps.
December 6, 2004... DEPOLARISATION will kick-start a move to wraps by the advisers, according to leading wrap and fund supermarket providers. The process of deciding whether to maintain independence, be tied to a single provider or go multi-tied, will bring...

European firms are set to prosper: Framlington.
December 6, 2004... Earnings growth will continue to rise in Europe in 2005, according to Framlington. Jeremy Lodwick, chief investment officer of Framlington, said that while the outlook for Europe remained benign, companies would continue to prosper in...

Framlington up on VCTEconomy set to weaken -- ABN.
December 6, 2004... THE UK economy will weaken next year on the back of falling house prices, weak consumer spending and rising unemployment. This is according to ABN Amro, whose forecast has added to a growing chorus of gloom from companies predicting...

HSBC to divide its asset affairs in two.
December 6, 2004... HSBC is to divide its asset management business and abandon its Japan and US funds. The new businesses will be HSBC Investments and a boutique-style company under the working title HSBC Alpha. The group's Japanese and US equity funds...

BGI tips US before Japan and Europe.
December 6, 2004... There is a more promising outlook for the US than for Europe or Japan, according to Barclays Global Investors. Haydn Davies, BGI's chief economist, predicted that Wall Street would outpace other equity markets in 2005. Mr Davies said...

Managers split over UK housing while rates bite.
December 6, 2004... MID-cap managers have offered opposing views on the UK housing market as interest rates bite into returns. Despite poor sentiment to the housebuilding sector, it could be set for improvement heading in to next year, according to managers at...

Foster's plans vague as F&C details funds.
December 6, 2004... JAMES Foster, former head of credit at Isis Asset Management, has retreated to the Caribbean for two months. Mr Foster, who left after the merger of F&C and Isis, had been in talks with Marc Gordon, managing director of Close Fund...

Quality debt, gilts key for 2005.
December 6, 2004... A MOVE to higher quality corporate debt and gilts is the strategy of UK bond fund managers for 2005. Richard White, of Credit Suisse's fixed income team, and Jim Leaviss, head of retail fixed income at M&G, both indicated their 2005...

Few opportunities to short EU equities, says HSBC.
December 6, 2004... THERE have been few opportunities to short in European equities in the third quarter, according to HSBC Republic. The managers of the AGBP44m HSBC European Absolute fund of hedge fund managers have said that while equity markets rallied...

Buy and sell.
December 6, 2004... Buy Rensburg UK Equity Income Gary Potter, director of multi-manager at Credit Suisse, has added to his holding in the AGBP189.3m Rensburg UK Equity Income fund. Mr Potter (pictured) said he had reduced the holding in the summer, in...

Investec to extend 4% commission.
December 6, 2004... INVESTEC has maintained its 4 per cent IFA commission offer on its Cautious Managed and Managed Distribution funds for 2005. IFAs can either take the commission or use it to reduce client entry costs to the funds. The AGBP335m Cautious...

performance.
December 6, 2004... By Ed Monk This week, we look at multi-manager funds investing in the UK. The sector is dominated by the large fund of fund providers, with Credit Suisse, New Star and Fidelity represented, although funds from providers such as Artemis,...

MLC cuts charges to up UK profile.
December 6, 2004... MLC, the third largest manager of manager fund providers in the world, has revamped its pricing structure. The company is now offering its portfolio management for an annual management charge of less than 1 per cent a for investments over...

7IM multis to invest in commercial property.
December 6, 2004... 7IM'S Multiple Asset Multi Manager funds have made a provision to allow them to invest in commercial property. This will be included in its risk profiles for both its Multiple Asset Multi Manager and, later in 2005, for its Wrap Fee...

New shares for F&C trust.
December 6, 2004... F&C's flagship Baronsmead VCT may be opened to a new share class in early 2005. The board of the AGBP35.2m VCT, which was the first venture capital trust fund to be launched by the Baronsmead division, has issued a circular to shareholders...

No need for frequent switching fee: Potter.
December 6, 2004... Credit Suisse's Gary Potter has said he sees no need for extra charges levied for switching too frequently between managers. Mr Potter said that he has had no discussions with fund management groups about potential charges for switching...

Funds shun Russia for Turkey and Hungary.
December 6, 2004... Fund managers are moving away from Russia, with love for other countries such as Turkey and Hungary winning through. A raft of worries following the Yukos affair and the political debate over privatisation and potential oligarchy in the oil...

Baring targets emerging Europe banks.
December 6, 2004... Banks from the emerging economies of Europe constitute a key theme for Stuart Richards, Baring's Emerging Europe manager. Mr Richards, manager of the AGBP155.2m trust, has identified financial stocks from the emerging central European...

VCT 'frenzy' for 2005: Foresight.
December 6, 2004... GROWING interest in VCTs through 2005 will lead to a "feeding frenzy" by investors, according to Foresight Venture Partners. Bernard Fairman, managing partner of Foresight, said the most likely venture capital trusts to first reach full...

IFAs more confident over FTSE level: survey.
December 6, 2004... Fund managers and IFAs are at odds over the FTSE100's performance next year. Surprisingly, fund managers have provided a more bearish outlook than advisers, with only between 8 per cent and 9 per cent of them expect the FTSE100 to be up in...

Rating is set to boost hedge appeal: Tilney.
December 6, 2004... TILNEY believes its AA fund of hedge funds management rating from S&P will encourage IFAs to promote the product. Both the company's fund of hedge fund ranges have received the AA rating following research and analysis by Standard & Poor's....

Axa pins its hopes on new tactical asset head.
December 6, 2004... Axa Investment Managers is looking for improved returns now it has appointed a head of tactical asset allocation. Axa said that Kieron Nutbrown would assume the newly created position reporting to chief investment officer Paul Griffiths. He...

WestLB rolls out its first UK product.
December 6, 2004... WESTLB has launched its first product, the capital-protected Performance Seeker investment plan, through stand-alone company Structured Solutions. Aimed at UK retail investors, the offer is open from 1 December to 24 January and requires a...

Premier unveils six-year FTSE100-linked scheme.
December 6, 2004... PREMIER Fund Managers has unveiled a six-year investment that is linked to the performance of the FTSE100. If the level of the index is at or above its start level on any of the plan's anniversaries then it automatically matures and returns...

Dollar dive causes waves in markets.
December 6, 2004... MARKETS reacted quickly to US job figures, with the dollar falling to $1.94 against the pound last Friday. US bond yields reacted to the news by falling from 4.41 to 4.28. In the UK, the 10-year gilt yield dropped from 4.72 to 4.64. ...

Global bonds brace for further US dollar falls.
December 6, 2004... GLOBAL bond managers are cautiously positioning themselves for a steep fall in the dollar. Economists and bond managers were united in their expectations that the US dollar had further to fall following announcements from the Chinese...

Omam propelled by aerospace potential.
December 6, 2004... OPPORTUNITIES in economically sensitive sectors such as aerospace have propelled performance for Old Mutual, according to a fund manager. Leonard Klahr, manager of the AGBP31.4m Old Mutual Extra Income fund, said that the fund had continued...

Scottish Eq launches a simplified transfer plan.
December 6, 2004... SCOTTISH Equitable has unveiled what it claimed was an improved section 32 plan for the AGBP500m trustee fund transfer market. The pension provider said increasing trustee responsibilities as a result of the Pensions Bill meant many...

IFA dismisses claims over Sipps' popularity.
December 6, 2004... AN IFA has rejected the idea that Sipps had returned to favour because of the government's failure with taxpayer-funded pensions. Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, was responding to comments by Andrew Smith,...

Advice will boost pension provision, says FSA's Hale.
December 6, 2004... PENSION provision would improve if consumer confidence was boosted by fair treatment and advice from financial firms, claims the FSA. In a speech, Kari Hale, director of the finance, risk & strategy division for the Financial Services...

F&C set for property, child trusts.
December 6, 2004... F&C plans to boost its trust presence with the launches of commercial property and childrens' trusts. F&C has committed itself to launching an investment trust child trust fund next year and has begun to sound out investors for a...

Japan fears see small cos suffer.
December 6, 2004... Fears of a cyclical Japanese recession have led markets to undervalue small-cap manufacturers, according to Baillie Gifford. The company's AGBP64m Shin Nippon investment trust's largest sector holding was machinery and manufacturers, at...

Market boosts SLI's private equity sales.
December 6, 2004... A healthier market for the sale of private equity investments has aided Standard Life Investment's European trust, according to its chairman. The AGBP161.9m Standard Life European Private Equity trust reported its net asset value rose by...

World is set to avoid a recession --AHenderson.
December 6, 2004... Although global industrial output was slowing a recession was far off, according to Henderson Global Investors. Tony Dolphin, director of economics and strategy for Henderson, said that global growth would slow over the next few months, but...

Profits slump is set for 2005, say trio of firms.
December 6, 2004... Next year will see slumping profits, the polarisation of equity values and large-cap outperformance, three fund managers have forecast. Artemis, Fidelity and Threadneedle said big companies would dominate 2005. However, similar predictions...

Slow month due to govt Isa interference: IMA.
December 6, 2004... THE Investment Management Association claims government interference over the structure of Isas could be to blame for a slow October. Latest figures from the association revealed a better net turnout for Isa and unit trust sales than in...

PortfolioOptimiser launches free toolset.
December 6, 2004... THE PortfolioOptimiser, a new working tool for IFAs and fund managers, has launched its free demonstration software. The toolset will give updated monthly information from Lipper and aims to help calculate risk levels of portfolios. ...

Duo prospers on Allianz High Alpha.
December 6, 2004... The co-management of Allianz's high alpha fund has worked well, according to its managers. The AGBP17.9m Allianz UK High Alpha fund was launched in May with two senior fund managers working side-by-side. Managers Mark Lovett and Trevor...

Third-quarter results see good hedge fund returns.
December 6, 2004... HEDGE fund returns have improved at the end of the third quarter, according to French business school Edhec. In its latest global outlook, Edhec's hedge fund indices said all strategies, bar convertible arbitrage, had positive returns over...

Brown disappoints with no property fund details.
December 6, 2004... There was general disappointment that Gordon Brown indicated no real progress on the development of Pifs in his pre-Budget report. It had been hoped that the chancellor would address the issue of property investment funds in his pre-Budget...

FSA focus turns to TERs, turnover.
December 6, 2004... THE Financial Services Authority is gathering opinion ahead of the latest round of Ucits III preparations. The regulator's focus includes contentious issues such as compulsory total expense ratios and portfolio turnover rates. The...

Clearer wrap info is needed: Defaqto.
December 6, 2004... ADVISERS are struggling to explain the benefits of wraps to clients because of unclear information from providers and fund supermarkets. A report published by financial research group Defaqto into wrap provision has shown a general...

Asante picks first stocks after move to First State.
December 6, 2004... FIRST State's latest recruit, Jonathan Asante, has begun stock selection for the AGBP389.3m Global Emerging Markets fund. Mr Asante, who was emerging markets fund manager and group economist at Framlington, started at First State at the end...

Europe will be region to watch, say managers.
December 6, 2004... TOP asset managers are touting Europe as the investment theme of 2005. Fidelity, Artemis, Merrill Lynch, F&C, Jupiter and Standard Life Investments all believe the region is set for strong growth next year. Michael Jones, head of UK...

Placing bets on a game of halves.
December 6, 2004... A recent episode of the West Wing reminded me of a classic moment from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Our two heroes meet their end stranded at the top of a sheer drop. Staring down at the impossible fall to the white waters below the Kid...

By the time we can say someone is skilled they will be dead.
December 6, 2004... Investment Adviser: Several trends seem to be taking shape in terms of asset allocation. On the one hand, there is an increased focus on risk and capital preservation rather than return, and on the other there is a rising demand for absolute...

Enjoy US equities while they last.
December 6, 2004... On coming back into the market from a two week break, not much change in theme is evident. Gold has performed even more strongly than we anticipated, oil remains firm and the dollar has disintegrated even more quickly than we anticipated. In a...

Industry welcomes Isa limit move with caution.
December 6, 2004... News from the pre-Budget report that the AGBP7000 Isa limit could extend to 2009 has been welcomed by investment companies. However, many remained wary that the chancellor Gordon Brown couched his statement on individual savings accounts...

The depolarisation plot gets thicker.
December 6, 2004... The lengthy gestation of the Financial Services Authority's consultation paper 166 has finally given birth to the multi-tendriled depolarisation regime. The regulator had said it was "not convinced that polarisation of the retail advice...

Mixed signals give reason for caution.
December 6, 2004... When the markets start behaving oddly, it is time for investors to put on their thinking caps. Something big may be about to happen. Markets are currently falling into the weird category. Let us take the government bond markets. At the time...

Seeking a better deal.
December 6, 2004... Today's financial intermediary is faced with a wide variety of challenges. These include new regulations arising from the Sandler Review on the UK's long-term savings market, the increased cost and difficulty of obtaining personal indemnity...

Defensive position keeps Capital afloat.
December 6, 2004... What a success story Artemis has been. From a standing start in 1998 they now have over AGBP4bn under management and a track record to die for. Their deal with ABN in 2002 was nothing if not inspired and has laid down a firm foundation for the...

The client is greater than the sum of parts.
December 6, 2004... It is generally accepted that holistic planning has its origins in the US and has been developing and taking a greater market share in the US over the past five years. But what is meant by this concept and is this likely to be the way forward...

Creating real partnerships.
December 6, 2004... Right or wrong, depolarisation is now a reality, with the final rules published on 29 November. The Financial Services Authority should be applauded for bringing forward depolarisation as there is no doubt that in the absence of definitive...

Investing in client service.
December 6, 2004... "Like a dreaded spectre haunting a hallowed hall, so looms the apparent threat of depolarisation to many in our financial services industry." Much similar hyperbole has been written about the impact of the new breed of multi-tie financial...

Get ready for choices.
December 6, 2004... After almost 17 years, the polarisation between tied agents and independent financial advisers is about to come to an end. From mid-January 2005, a new type of financial adviser will be drumming up business. Begin the age of the multi-tied...

Small, but almost perfectly formed.
December 6, 2004... Index-linked stocks provide a safe haven for investors during times of high inflation. This is because they provide both capital and income appreciation in line with price rises. In theory, therefore, index-linked funds should turn into...

Govt to match CTF investment in 2009.
December 6, 2004... The government is set to match its initial payments into child trust funds with another AGBP250 or AGBP500. Chancellor Gordon Brown announced in his pre-Budget report last week that the government would give another round of payments to the...

The skills for the job.
December 6, 2004... Ever since the market polarised in the late 1980s, an uneasy peace has existed as the various participants, regulators, product providers, investment houses, banks and IFAs played out what eventually would become a failed experiment....

Little sector goes a long way.
December 6, 2004... By Gail Moss The fixed income GBP Index-linked sector is relatively small, containing only 10 funds. However, over the 12 months to 30 September, all but two of the funds recorded a net inflow of new money. The fund with the largest amount...

Making the most of a small universe.
December 6, 2004... The AGBP249m Henderson Index Linked Bond fund is the biggest fund in the Fixed Income GBP Index-Linked sector (as at 30 September, according to data from Standard & Poor's). Although it is aimed primarily at institutions, it is also open to...

High performance from modest sector.
December 6, 2004... Fixed Income GBP Index-Linked funds covered in the table opposite are ranked according to their risk-adjusted performances over the past three-and-a-half years. Performance ratings were only possible for six funds within the sector, with the...

New classification broadens the range of UK options.
December 6, 2004... The UK index-linked sector is a new and welcome Standard & Poor's classification which dramatically widens the range of options for UK investors as its performance characteristics are so different from conventional gilts. For a description of...

manager Comment - Kevin Adams.
December 6, 2004... I HAVE been running this fund for nearly 18 months, and I also take responsibility for our other index-linked portfolios. In total, these funds are worth AGBP2bn. There are 50 people on the Henderson bond team. But in terms of running the...

MFS aims to bring 12 offshore funds to UK.
December 6, 2004... MFS is planning to bring at least 12 of its Luxembourg funds to UK investors within a year. The US-based asset manager hopes to have most of the 14-strong range on offer in the UK in a year, pending Financial Services Authority approval....

Framlington boosts small cos team via St John.
December 6, 2004... FRAMLINGTON has bolstered its highly regarded small-cap team with the appointment of Christopher St John, a former F&C manager. As reported in Investment Adviser in October, the future of Mr St John was in the balance at F&C where he ran...

F&C set to hand trusts to start-up trio of managers.
December 6, 2004... F&C is to hand three trusts to managers who will leave the company and establish a new company to run them. Fund managers Bill Brown, Robert Mitchell and Stuart Rollason, F&C's Aim team, will set up a new investment boutique focused on...

Buy-to-let market still holding up.
December 9, 2004... There has been plenty of doom and gloom for the housing market recently, with Barclays and Deutsche Bank both predicting that thousands of pounds will be wiped off the value of the average property in the coming year. Such predictions are...

Clarity is needed on future of rates.
December 9, 2004... THE recent OECD report suggesting that the Bank of England should raise its base rates next year by up to 100 points has, to say the least, added to the confusion regarding the future direction of interest rates. This is especially true for...

What goes up, must come down?
December 9, 2004... OVER the summer the money markets were convinced that interest rates would rise to a peak of 5 per cent by the middle of 2005. Currently, the markets are expecting interest rates to remain at 4 per cent for the foreseeable future and there is a...

Keeping an eye on road ahead.
December 9, 2004... I REMEMBER when I passed my driving test. I was very confident that I was the best driver in the world. Over the next six months, I learnt how to drive a car. This time was mainly taken up with me explaining to my boss -- I had a company...

A move to the stability of cash.
December 9, 2004... FIGURES released by the Building Societies Association revealed that in October, while mortgage lending was down 58 per cent on a year ago, savings in building society cash deposits were up 58 per cent. Apart from the symmetry of the...

Search engines confuse consumers.
December 9, 2004... INTERNET search engines are failing consumers when it comes to looking for a mortgage, according to a survey.

Playing catch-up with the new rules.
December 9, 2004... IN THE end, Mortgage Day became a little like the arrival of the year 2000. There was the massive build-up, with countless people becoming frantic with worry over what would happen once the clock struck midnight on 31 October. The same...

Packagers may lose out to new system.
December 9, 2004... THE packaging industry could potentially lose a large slice of the market when Mortgage 2000 Financial Group launches a DIY packaging system in January. The Remote Processing System, which is already being used by a large number of...

Apathetic borrowers could lose out by not switching mortgages.
December 9, 2004... BORROWERS with annually reviewed mortgage rates should shop around or expect rises of up to 25 per cent. Charcol said borrowers needed to be aware that accepting the renewed terms of an annually reviewed standard variable rate mortgage...

Two-year fixed rates deals are set to fall.
December 9, 2004... TWO-year fixed rates deals will fall under 4.5 per cent in the new year, according to Jonathan Cornell of Hamptons International Mortgages. He pointed out that that swap rates have been drifting downwards but that few lenders have passed on...