Investment Adviser articles from January 2005

Investment Adviser archives from January 2005

Mytton death leads to funds rejig.
January 10, 2005... GAM has changed the management of selected funds following the death of one of its lead managers. John Mytton, investment director for Gam, aged 47, died unexpectedly on 19 December while holidaying in South Africa. The circumstances of...

Reinsurance set for revival says Hiscox.
January 10, 2005... Reinsurance could be revitalised as a sector as insurance firms look to spread risk fearing another disaster as deadly as the tsunami. Alec Foster, group investment officer for Hiscox Investment Management, the banking and insurance sector...

FSA inally signs splits deal with 18 companies.
January 10, 2005... AFTER two years of costly legal wrangling 18 companies have agreed to pay out AGBP194m to compensate split cap investors. The deal, signed at lunchtime on Christmas Eve, saw 18 out of the 22 companies investigated by the Financial Services...

Quick sell-off has opened up breaks for the savvy: experts.
January 10, 2005... Negative publicity for splits has led to buying opportunities for shrewd investors, say industry experts. Although investors did lose money, many in the industry believe a quick sell-off created buying opportunities for fund of funds and...

Four that failed to sign may face action.
January 10, 2005... ENFORCEMENT action could be taken against four companies that failed to sign up to the FSA's settlement. Of the companies investigated, only Exeter Asset Management, BFS, B&C Asset Management and Teather & Greenwood could not come to an...

Debate will rumble on, say advisers.
January 10, 2005... The split cap debate will continue to rumble on as investors seek more compensation, according to advisers. Jason Evans, partner at Bristol-based IFA Kohn Cougar, said: "There are still clouds over the deal as investors are not going to be...

Gartmore UK Focus looks to media and tech stocks.
January 10, 2005... Growth opportunities exist in many UK media and technology stocks, according to Gartmore. Ashley Willing, manager of the AGBP244.3m Gartmore UK Focus fund, said that UK equities looked cheap on a price/earnings basis compared with bonds....

Europe set to be the place to invest: Swip.
January 10, 2005... Scottish Widows is the latest fund provider to join the pro-European equity bandwagon. Claiming that European equities were likely to grow at 8 per cent this year, with price/earnings ratios falling across the board, the company stated...

Aberdeen plans for post-splits growth.
January 10, 2005... Gary Marshall, sales and marketing director for Aberdeen, said the company -- written off only 18 months ago -- was aiming to expand its business, particularly institutional, in 2005. He hoped strong recent fund performance would also bring...

Brewin backs Brown's buoyant UK forecasts.
January 10, 2005... Economists have shrugged off warnings from the International Monetary Fund that Britain must revise its economic forecasts downwards. Market watchers placed their faith in chancellor Gordon Brown's predictions that the British gross...

FSA hits B&B with a AGBP650k mis-selling ine.
January 10, 2005... BRADFORD & Bingley has been hit with a AGBP650,000 fine and a AGBP6m compensation bill from the FSA. The national IFA was fined AGBP650,000 for mis-selling precipice and with profits bonds. The business has also agreed to pay AGBP6m in...

Lloyds TSB enters child trust market.
January 10, 2005... Lloyds TSB has moved to fill the space left by Fidelity by entering the market for child trust funds. Lloyds TSB will launch a stakeholder CTF which will be administered by The Children's Mutual and will invest in Scottish Widow's...

Exeter could be in court in weeks: lawyers.
January 10, 2005... Exeter Fund Managers could be the first company to face legal action, according to law firm Class Law. Stephen Oakes-Alexander, partner at Class Law, said that court proceedings from about 35 investors would begin this month or in...

Property to be the top class: Schroder.
January 10, 2005... Commercial property is set to be the choice asset class this year, according to Schroder. With equities and fixed income widely viewed as unable to emulate the returns of the 1980s and 1990s, investors and asset managers are turning to...

Charlemagne launches Latin American fund.
January 10, 2005... Specialist Charlemagne Capital has launched a Latin America fund to tap into promising prospects for the region. This is the second launch in a month from the asset management house, which launched its Turkey fund in early December on the...

Performance.
January 10, 2005... By Ed Monk Attention this week falls on the TrustNet sector for global multi-manager funds. This includes fund of funds and manager of manager funds which are invested internationally. The rules for inclusion in the sector mean that...

Actuaries failed to stand up for themselves -- Bell.
January 10, 2005... ACTUARIES should have stood up for themselves more when advising board members on the viability of guaranteed annuities. This is according to Andy Bell, managing director of consulting actuaries AJ Bell, who said that the Morris report into...

Mercater is still positive on Japan.
January 10, 2005... The Japanese market still shows promise, according to Mercater. David Oakes, manager of the AGBP5m Mercater International Portfolio, said: "I remain positive on the outlook for the Japanese market, with valuations looking reasonable...

Invesco reshufies fund team.
January 10, 2005... Ian Brady, head of US equities, will take over responsibility for fund of funds managed by Bob Yerbury, including the AGBP142.6m World Income fund. The move comes as Mr Yerbury looks to concentrate on his joint chief executive and chief...

Discounts on global trusts to stay wide.
January 10, 2005... Discounts on investment trusts will continue to narrow this year but not on global trusts, according to Chartwell. Craig Wetton, director of the Bath-based IFA, said: "Share buy-backs are one of the ways trusts managed to control their...

Dunedin concentrates on above-average yield irms.
January 10, 2005... Companies that produce above-average yields will continue to be targeted by the Dunedin Smaller Companies trust, its manager has said. Andrew Paisley, manager of the AGBP98.5m trust, said the small-cap market would rise this year, but would...

Warning sounded over prospects for property.
January 10, 2005... Property's performance as an investment faces "new risks not encountered in the past 10 years", according to Standard Life Investments. Andrew Jackson, investment director for property for SLI, said: "Commercial property has had a pretty...

Star performers of last year outside FTSE100 -- Halifax.
January 10, 2005... THE Halifax Annual Stockwatch report has revealed that FTSE250 and FTSE SmallCap shares saw the strongest gains in 2004. John Bearman, head of UK equities for Halifax, said: "The FTSE250 rose 19 per cent last year, following a 34 per cent...

Second positive year aids pensions.
January 10, 2005... UK pension funds increased in value by 10 per cent during 2004, according to a report from Russell/Mellon. Daniel Hall, publications and statistics manager for Russell/ Mellon, said, "This second successive year of positive performance is...

Lipper sees growth in US equity funds in Q4.
January 10, 2005... US equity funds gained ground in a fourth-quarter rally, according to Lipper. Equities gained for the 10th time in the past 11 weeks, finishing the last week of the year up 0.76 per cent. World equity funds outperformed US equity funds...

Pims survey inds major hedge fund scepticism.
January 10, 2005... MORE than half of IFAs remain sceptical about hedge funds despite recent hype. About 53 per cent of advisers surveyed by financial services forum Pims said investors with a balanced mandate should not desert equities in favour of hedge...

CSAM awaits ruling on non-Ucits retail funds.
January 10, 2005... Non-Ucits retail funds would allow fund of funds to invest in a much wider investment universe than is currently possible. Funds of funds would be able to invest in a mixture of assets such as property or gold, or even hold individual...

New Star survey shows need for advice.
January 10, 2005... Research commissioned by the investment manager showed many investors were confused or needed good advice to encourage them to invest over the coming months. A survey of almost 600 investors revealed more than 40 per cent either needed...

Isa sales rise but fail to beat 2003.
January 10, 2005... Investor interest in Isas picked up in November, but the savings vehicles remained far less popular than in 2003. Figures from the Investment Management Association show net Isa fund sales climbed in November 2004 to AGBP45.3m -- 21 per...

Christmas spirit gets repetitive.
January 10, 2005... Christmas cards by email are becoming a common occurrence. They are highly impersonal, but it is a way to show you love and care for your clients after all. Well, Kim Barrett of the Essex-based IFA KS Barrett & Associates was getting a lot of...

Buy & Sell.
January 10, 2005... Schroder Euro Alpha Plus fund The AGBP91.8m Schroder Euro Alpha Plus fund has been one of the strongest performers within the AGBP17.6m New Star European Portfolio. New Star said that it was among the top three or four European funds....

Plastic population comes of age.
January 10, 2005... It is official: Britain became a plastic society on 29 December, when debit and credit cards overtook cash for the first time as our most popular method of payment. At 10.38am at Tesco's West Cromwell Road branch in a transaction by Helen...

Dexia discovers the truly green present.
January 10, 2005... This lack of paper could be caused by the fact that Dexia private bank is buying up all the trees. Instead of buying lavish Christmas presents for their clients, Dexia has been planting native deciduous trees and then telling their clients the...

Putting a kick into the Isa season.
January 10, 2005... It appears that we have our own Hong Kong Phooey in the investment industry. Hong Kong Phooey was a delight of Diary's childhood for he was, and is, and forever will be "the number one super guy". Masquerading as Penry Pooch, the mild-mannered...

Bonds are set for more hard times.
January 10, 2005... Last year was incredibly frustrating for bond bears. It was a year in which everything that could have gone wrong for bonds did go wrong: commodity prices rose, inflation accelerated and interest rates finally bottomed in the US. Earlier...

Split cap mess provides lesson.
January 10, 2005... The AGBP194m split capital investment trust deal struck just before Christmas marks a positive and welcome sign that the investment industry is willing to pay for past mistakes. As we report on page 5 this week, the deal has taken many...

A poor start could dog performance.
January 10, 2005... If early indications from the market are any guide, 2005 could be a difficult year. There would be some natural justice to this, given that markets largely shrugged off most of the bigger picture problems during 2004, such as rising interest...

Doing the maths to find the breakdown.
January 10, 2005... What sort of asset allocation should clients have in 2005? Of course, much depends on their individual circumstances and risk aversion. But it is still worth trying to make some general suggestions. In a previous column, I suggested that a...

Looking back with 20/20 vision.
January 10, 2005... For the first column of the New Year I thought I might look back at the successes or otherwise of 2004. Despite the best endeavours of some of the equity strategists and economists 2004 was not half as bad a year for equities as you might have...

UBS tips iight to quality US stocks.
January 10, 2005... Tom Digenan, manager of the AGBP43m UBS US Equity fund, said he envisaged a "flight back to quality" embracing larger cap stocks with solid fundamentals, strong cashflow and the capacity to pay dividends. He said: "Compared with 2003 and...

New year welcomes optimistic investors.
January 10, 2005... Like a thirsty man spotting an oasis in the desert, the much hoped for end-of-the-year stock market rally has revived equity markets around the world. So despite the doom, gloom and frustration of previous months, 2004 was a good, if...

Slowly but surely will be way to get ahead.
January 10, 2005... Economists and strategists are nervous. The balance of payments is in large deficit, government debt is growing and consumer confidence is falling, as is the price of houses. Personal debt ballooned in 2004 and the money supply is growing...

Fits and starts is better than a broken heart.
January 10, 2005... With many different forces buffeting investor sentiment as we start 2005, the direction of equity markets is more than usually uncertain. At this point, it is difficult to predict whether the tailwinds will win out over the headwinds. In...

Being successful in a mediocre continent.
January 10, 2005... Having been reasonably bullish on the prospects for European markets and economies in 2005 for much of 2004, my outlook has recently become much more pessimistic. I have been disappointed by data indicating that economic growth in the eurozone...

We have made progress, but RLAM has to raise its game.
January 10, 2005... Investment Adviser: What do you think about what is happening at F&C and Isis at the moment? And what prompted you to take the new position? Robert Talbut: I have a lot of problems from a legal perspective which restrict me from saying a...

F&C will struggle with trusts: Close.
January 10, 2005... F&C will be under increasing pressure to keep its investment trust stable intact, according to Close Wins. Analysts at Close Wins said not only had departures from the UK team weakened the UK investment trust proposition, but also the...

Wheeling and dealing to boost the eurozone.
January 10, 2005... For the most part of 2004, markets remained flat, thanks to economic concerns and geopolitical risks. In particular, the strength of the oil price, fears over the weakness of the economic recovery, especially in Europe, the potential slowdown...

Renaissance period for Europe.
January 10, 2005... Last year saw something of a renaissance in European stock markets following only moderate performance in the past three years. According to Standard & Poor's, the FTSE World Europe inc UK index increased by 5.3 per cent over the past three...

Eq Europe sees small inflow.
January 10, 2005... By Gail Moss The relatively mediocre performance of the Equity Europe sector has been reflected in only a small inflow of investors' money over the past year. The 21 respondents in the Equity Europe sector returned, on average, 10.46...

Rate rises, proit falls may limit US stocks.
January 10, 2005... Rising interest rates and a slowdown in profits growth will limit upside potential for US stocks, claim managers. Bob Doll, chief investment officer of Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, expected another year of "muddling growth" as rising...

De Blonay takes a look at Europe.
January 10, 2005... Mr de Blonay said: "I will continue to avoid the US until there are additional signs that dollar weakness, which makes sterling-based investment returns unattractive, has come to an end." The manager has turned his attention to Europe and...

Hay rolls out online Sipp without an annual charge.
January 10, 2005... JAMES Hay has launched an online self invested personal pension without annual charge and set-up fees. The eSipp has two investment options: an equity dealing facility through Abbey Stockbrokers and Select and Collect funds from James...

Asian stocks resilient after tsunami disaster.
January 10, 2005... Following the disaster, analysts say tourism will be adversely affected in the short-term but that Asian stock markets have shown resilience. According to F&C, many Asian markets including Hong Kong, Indonesia and India hit new highs in...

Jupiter calls another wallowing hippo year.
January 10, 2005... Forget raging bulls and hibernating bears, 2005 will be another year for the wallowing hippo, according to Jupiter Asset Management . Edward Bonham Carter, the company's chief investment officer, said passive managers and index tracking...

Thematic approach starts to pay off.
January 10, 2005... The AGBP9.7m SVM European Growth fund aims to achieve long-term capital growth from a portfolio of European and UK equities. The fund aims to outperform the FTSE World Europe index and was launched on 1 September 1993. The fund is...

Gam calls for regulators to open up hedge funds.
January 10, 2005... Jeremy Smouha, a director of Gam, said it made sense for the UK to authorise hedge funds rather than continuing the myth that hedge funds were "forbidden fruit". He said: "It would be preferable for the UK regulator to allow strategies...

Manager Comment - Paul Casson.
January 10, 2005... I have been running this fund since 2001 and I am a part of a nine- strong team of fund managers and analysts. Each of us researches our own stocks and should a manager come up with any good ideas he will place it in his fund and then also...

Old Mutual may cap offshore UK fund.
January 17, 2005... Old Mutual is considering performance fees and a cap for its offshore UK Select Smaller Companies fund. The idea has been suggested as a way of retaining the focused and specialist nature of the AGBP33m Dublin-listed Oeic. The asset...

Lloyd gets quintet of Asian funds ready to roll.
January 17, 2005... Asian emerging markets fund specialist Lloyd George Management is to launch five funds next month. The funds will be run by managers based in London, Hong Kong and Singapore. They will also benefit from research offices in Mumbai and...

7IM is planning flexible online service for IFAs.
January 17, 2005... The investment management company, which currently provides discretionary services for intermediaries, is developing an online offering that will allow advisers to make their own investment choices. Justin Urquhart Stewart, marketing...

Morgan splits Compass to add gay investment arm.
January 17, 2005... Compass, which specialises in providing advice to the gay community and members' friends and family, has been split by Mr Morgan. This means Compass will concentrate on mortgage and insurance broking, while Pink Investment will deal with...

Watchdog goes after the Bear.
January 17, 2005... The Financial Services Authority said the penalty was levied on Hemscott for the production and distribution of misleading financial promotions. The City watchdog found that a promotion using the slogan, "We even make a bear market all...

UK retail market is steady: F&C.
January 17, 2005... The UK retail market is steady despite weak sales, according to F&C. Steven Andrew, economist at F&C Asset Management, said there were indications of retail growth on the high street. This went against the British Retail Consortium's...

Forsyth Partners bullish on US market prospects.
January 17, 2005... FORSYTH Partners believes investors should avoid treating the US market as a non-starter. Peter Toogood, chief investment officer at Forsyth, said: "The US is dismissed as a basketcase as usual, but 2005 looks like another year in which...

Arlington early birds to get costs returned.
January 17, 2005... Should investors subscribe by the property fund's first closing in early February, Arlington Property Investors said these investors' initial charges would be immediately re-valued upwards to a level which would eliminate the transaction cost....

JPMF believes in Japanese growth.
January 17, 2005... JPMorgan Fleming is pushing its Japan funds to investors as it believes the region's growth story will continue. David Mitchinson, the manager of JPMF's AGBP159.8m Japan fund, said the long-term growth prospects for companies in Japan were...

Cofunds under fire on re-registration refusal.
January 17, 2005... Fund supermarket Cofunds is being criticised for its refusal to allow re-registration to other platforms. The provider said it would not accept a scheme where clients could transfer investments to its rivals at no cost -- putting it in...

Ingenious to use Ucits rules on bond roll out.
January 17, 2005... Ingenious Asset Management has launched a directional bond fund taking advantage of more flexible Ucits legislation on derivatives. The fund will have between 30 and 40 holdings initially and will invest in investment grade bonds only. ...

Fidelity puts faith in Euro small cos.
January 17, 2005... Fidelity manager Tim McCarron found gold in European smaller companies during 2004. Mr McCarron, who has managed the AGBP2.67bn Fidelity European fund for two years, said smaller companies had managed to outperform their larger...

Rough year ahead for bonds, warn managers.
January 17, 2005... Yields on gilts could be rocked by strong economic forecasts and rising interest rates, according to fund managers. Tony Dolphin, director of economics and strategy for Henderson Global Investors, said bond markets had proved resilient in...

Foresters waives MVA on with profits CTFs.
January 17, 2005... Foresters Friendly Society will exempt child trust fund money invested in its with profits fund from market value adjusters. Following the official launch of the government-backed CTFs last week, the mutual organisation will offer a...

Directional, event driven boost hedges last month.
January 17, 2005... Directional and event-driven managers lifted hedge fund performance in December, according to Standard & Poor's. Its Hedge Fund index was up by 1.23 per cent in December, led by strong performance by directional and event-driven managers,...

UK slowdown to boost mid-caps: Lipper, S&P.
January 17, 2005... Lipper is expecting UK economic growth to slow to around 2.5 per cent and returns from UK equity funds for 2005 to fall short of those for last year. It has predicted UK equity funds to return between 4 per cent and 8 per cent in 2005. ...

UK All Cos active funds beat trackers.
January 17, 2005... ACTIVELY managed UK All Companies funds outperformed tracker funds last year, returning 13 per cent on average, Lipper research shows. Lipper calculated the average return was 13.09 per cent for active funds in the IMA UK All Companies...

F&C plans cash deposit account for child trusts.
January 17, 2005... F&C, which is one of only two providers offering CTF products -- the other being New Star, said it was wise to acknowledge the need for a cash-based investment option. This came a few weeks after former CTF supporter Fidelity made a U-turn...

Managers highlight value of commodities as assets.
January 17, 2005... Range-bound trading in equities has been widely predicted this year, making commodities and energy, in particular, an increasingly attractive option for fund managers seeking higher returns. Mark Mathias, managing director of structured...

Rathbone bids for R'burg.
January 17, 2005... It was revealed on Friday that Rathbones had made a 610p a share offer for Rensburg, which is currently in the process of merging with Investec's Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite. Rensburg has rejected the offer, but the news could pave the way...

Eastern promise touches Midas.
January 17, 2005... The fund, managed by Alan Borrows, chief investment director of Midas, has benefited from strong performance from Eastern European and other emerging market countries within underlying funds in the portfolio. The Midas Balanced Growth...

ABN targets retail field with sub-AGBP200 funds.
January 17, 2005... The Luxembourg-listed USA and European Opportunities funds are dollar and euro based respectively. The minimum investment is $250 or a250, which converts to AGBP133 in the US fund and AGBP175 in the European version at last Tuesday's exchange...

Amex wrap widens to offer investment trusts.
January 17, 2005... The move will allow IFAs' trust clients to access the Amex wrapper account. Jason Evans, partner with Bristol-based IFA Kohn Cougar, a company with a large base of investment trust business, said the widening of a wrap platform's...

Investec rolls out zero-charge share class for duo.
January 17, 2005... Investec has launched a zero-charge share class in two funds. X-shares have no initial charge, although IFAs receive 3 per cent initial and 0.5 per cent trail commission on subscriptions to its AGBP364m Cautious Managed and AGBP38m Managed...

Performance.
January 17, 2005... By Ed Monk The TrustNet sector for UK multi-managed funds is the focus of performance this week. The sector encompasses both income and growth focused funds as well as some funds dedicated to the UK equity income sector. The...

Buy & Sell.
January 17, 2005... Credit Suisse Multi-Manager UK Income Rob Burdett, of Credit Suisse's multi-manager team, has been adding to his holdings in the Artemis, Neptune and Schroder income funds in the AGBP39m Credit Suisse Multi-Manager UK Income fund. The three...

CSAM adds discounts on platform FoF range.
January 17, 2005... The company has cut the initial charge, normally 4 per cent, by 1 per cent. Credit Suisse Asset Management is also offering 3 per cent commission, which IFAs can either take themselves or use to further reduce the entry-level costs for...