Investment Adviser articles from March 2004

Investment Adviser archives from March 2004

Lawyers rubbish split-cap aid plan.
March 8, 2004... THE FSA's proposed collective scheme to compensate split-cap investors could prove unworkable, according to City lawyers. In a meeting with 21 split-cap providers, John Tiner, chief executive of the Financial Services Authority, asked firms...

Investors may look beyond FTSE.
March 8, 2004... MORE investors could consider structured products with underlying indices other than the FTSE100 as confidence in equities returns. This is according to Trevor Cheal, sales and development director for Legal & General, who said as...

Atlantis opens Asian fund trio to UK retail investors.
March 8, 2004... Atlantis Investment Management has opened three of its offshore Asian funds to UK retail investors. The three Asian sub-funds are part of the Atlantis International Umbrella, which is a Dublin-listed unit trust and is established as a...

Schroder and Axa clash over Japan rally.
March 8, 2004... Conflicting outlooks have left the fortunes of the Japan market looking uncertain for 2004. Investment strategies from Axa Investment Management and Schroder each give a different reading of prospects in the region. In an investment...

European confidence in global recovery falls.
March 8, 2004... European fund managers have turned more cautious on the outlook for global stock markets in 2004, according to Morningstar. This is contrary to the general perception of investors that the economic recovery that began in 2003 will gain...

Nu Nu EIS makes use of government nursery plan.
March 8, 2004... Investors have until 5 April to take part in an EIS that takes advantage of government incentives on nursery places. Nu Nu, a nursery company, has set a AGBP5m target for its 2002-03 share issue which will contribute to the building of...

Equity income on top as Isa sales rise 150%.
March 8, 2004... Investors are flocking into equity income Isas, according to figures from Cofunds. Seven of Cofund's top 20 selling Isas, including re-registrations, in January and February were members of Standard & Poor's Equity UK Income sector. ...

Business triples at Fidelity.
March 8, 2004... Net Isa sales on Fidelity's FundsNetwork platform tripled in January and February, compared with the same period in 2003. Rob Fisher, head of IFA marketing for Fidelity Investments, said while the sales were spread quite broadly across a...

Worries over faddish investors.
March 8, 2004... SEI Investments has joined Isis in warning investors of the risks of following the crowd when picking Isas. Last year, the most popular Isas were bond funds, according to IMA statistics. However, bond funds significantly underperformed...

Thousands unaware of FSA rules.
March 8, 2004... THOUSANDS of City staff face jail or heavy fines by unwittingly breaching FSA rules. One in 10 city firms are unaware that they are covered by the city regulator and more than one quarter do not know the rules they must meet. This is...

Dawnay rolls out a FTSE China 25 fund.
March 8, 2004... Dawnay Day Quantum has launched a structured product giving investors access to Chinese stocks. Its six-year Protected China fund is linked to the performance of the FTSE Xinhua China 25 index. It gives investors 70 per cent of any...

JPMF looking to Europe.
March 8, 2004... JPMORGAN Fleming Asset Management is considering launching a European equity income fund. The fund would be designed to meet the need for pension funding in Europe and the easing in European retail investors' aversion to equities. The...

Pensions Protection Fund is untenable, argue actuaries.
March 8, 2004... THE PENSIONS Protection Fund has been branded "untenable" by actuaries after the first reading of the Pensions Bill Following a six-hour debate in the House of Commons, MPs voted to send the Pensions Bill to a standing committee and charge...

Life interest trust plan by Allianz.
March 8, 2004... ALLIANZ Dresdner is seeking a listing on the London Stock Exchange for a traded life interest investment trust. The investment manager is compiling a prospectus outlining the details of the fund, which has yet to be named. It is believed...

Royce on a roll with US small-cap stocks.
March 8, 2004... Value-oriented small-cap funds in the US will outpeform US large caps this decade, according to Royce & Associates. The wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason said real returns had been driven by small- to medium-sized companies in the US in...

FTSE outpaced by its global counterparts.
March 8, 2004... WHILE the UK market was strong last year, its performance compared with its global counterparts was disappointing, according to Lipper. The FTSE All-Share index finished the year with a modest 21 per cent growth, compared with the S&P500...

Look at the smaller picture, UBS urges.
March 8, 2004... UBS' US equity manager has advised investors not to be swayed by issues including the weak dollar and the elections. Tom Digenan, manager of the UBS US Equity fund, said investors should look at individual stock opportunities and not be...

DWS moves away from cyclical stock exposure.
March 8, 2004... DWS Investments is reducing cyclicals exposure in global portfolios, saying these stocks may be reaching their peak. Steven Bell, global chief economist at DWS, said the house view this month was to reduce exposure to more cyclical markets...

Isis, Newton back attractive Europe.
March 8, 2004... Fund managers at Newton and Isis are turning increasingly upbeat on Europe. Both firms argue that fundamentals in Europe are looking increasingly attractive. Raj Shant, manager of the AGBP266.7m Newton Continental European fund, said:...

Competition is key issue -- PWC.
March 8, 2004... INTENSE competition for clients is the single most important issue driving wealth managers' strategies. This is according to PricewaterhouseCoopers, which claimed wealth managers believed that superior quality service would be an increasing...

Artemis European Growth fund is backed by Killik.
March 8, 2004... The outlook for European growth-oriented funds is increasingly positive, according to broker and fund manager Killik. The London-based firm is recommending clients to buy Philip Wolstencroft and Peter Soake's AGBP183.8m Artemis European...

Forsyth likes the look of Asia market growth.
March 8, 2004... The maturity of emerging markets in south-east Asia has prompted Forsyth Partners to launch an Asia ex Japan fund of funds. Fund of funds manager Forsyth has launched the Dublin-domiciled Asian Opportunities fund and said development in the...

Upturn in Teps welcomed by Surrenda Link fund.
March 8, 2004... AN UPTURN in the fortunes of traded endowment policies has brought optimistic forecasts from managers at Surrenda Link. The AGBP28.4m Surrenda Link Investment fund splits allocations between Teps and commercial property in the UK. ...

Beagles moves into defensive equities.
March 8, 2004... Clive Beagles, manager of Newton Higher Income, has cut the fund's cyclical exposure in favour of defensive plays. Mr Beagles has sliced his position in cyclicals by about 10 per cent over the past six months. Most of the stocks sold had...

Cowley takes charge of Nth America.
March 8, 2004... MANAGEMENT of the Schroder North American fund will pass to Grant Cowley at the end of the month. The transfer reflects Schroder's desire to offer investors in the AGBP4.9m fund a more active investment style. Adrian Cronje, a member of...

High oil price leads to dollar hedging.
March 8, 2004... MARKET analysts suspect a high oil price has led hedge fund traders taking long positions to hedge against the dollar. According to global trading firm Commodity Futures Trading Company, hedge fund traders are pushing the price of oil up by...

Only fifth of investors are long-term savers: Chelsea.
March 8, 2004... Less than one-fifth of UK investors save for the long term, according to Chelsea Financial Services. Research conducted by the London-based IFA revealed that 17.4 per cent of investors surveyed invested with more than a 10-year time...

It's worth being in focus, says Bates.
March 8, 2004... The Leeds-based IFA said its research revealed the risks were justified when compared with investing in the more mainstream alternatives available from the same fund management groups. Bates defines focus funds as having a concentrated...

L&G set to offer a market-linker.
March 8, 2004... L&G on Monday launched a stock market-linked product, offering a minimum 22 per cent return if held to maturity. The company said Capital Protection Plus 3 would be available for a limited six-week period until 16 April. The plan,...

Saga joins with Rab for offshore funds.
March 8, 2004... Saga has teamed up with hedge fund strategists Rab Capitol to launch two offshore investment funds that employ hedging techniques. The funds, the Rab Hedged Investment fund and Rab Income Plus, have been opened to the retail market inside a...

Ethical Money rolls out cross asset class product.
March 8, 2004... Ethical Money, an investment company that invests in ethical investments, has launched a Distribution Account which will invest in a mix of commercial property, corporate bonds and equities. John Fleetwood, Ethical Money's founder, believes...

Merrill shifts to platform services.
March 8, 2004... Merrill Lynch Investment Managers is steering a course away from single unit sales towards distribution platforms. Richard Royds, appointed as the new head of UK retail last month, said the future for the retail market lay not in heavily...

Insight puts emphasis on its accountability.
March 8, 2004... Insight Investment is to publish records of its shareholder activism and voting recommendations to clients on its website. The move followed what Insight believed to be a growing appetite for greater transparency within the behavior of...

IMA says no evidence of late trading in UK.
March 8, 2004... UK FUND managers have not been involved in late trading, according to the Investment Management Association. Richard Saunders, chief executive of the IMA, said: "It is reasonably clear that there is no evidence of late trading, although...

Isis takes step towards Euro hedge funds goal.
March 8, 2004... The new alternative investment specialist, based in London and Dublin, will give Isis exclusive rights to market and distribute Isis-branded hedge funds, fund of hedge funds and structured products to the UK and Europe where authorised. ...

Carruthers to offer Ample improvement.
March 8, 2004... The private company, which specialises in financial services, bought the online fund supermarket from HHG, the spun-off UK operations of Australian financial services provider AMP, on 26 February. Tomas Carruthers, chairman and chief...

LMI takes US small cap fund to the Continent.
March 8, 2004... Legg Mason Investments is set to distribute its new US Smaller Companies fund into Europe. The Dublin-based US Smaller Companies fund, managed by Chuck Royce, chief investment officer of Royce & Associates, a Legg Mason subsidiary, will be...

Friends Prov joins fund of funds trend.
March 8, 2004... Friends Provident has added a multi-manager fund range to its existing pensions schemes in response to demand from intermediaries. Three multi-manager options are available to investors with the launch of global equity, balanced and...

Standard Life unveils Sigma pension funds.
March 8, 2004... STANDARD Life has unveiled the investment profile, structure and typical asset mix for its new manager of managers pension funds. The five funds, to be launched on 15 March as part of the Edinburgh-based provider's Sigma pension fund...

Henderson Euro is up by 13.7 per cent.
March 8, 2004... The Henderson Euro trust has recorded a 17.07 per cent growth over the half-year ended 31 January. During the period under review, the AGBP78m trust's peer group, Equity Europe, was up 16.5 per cent, according to the Standard & Poor's. ...

Consumer body calls for increase in state pension.
March 8, 2004... PENSION investments have failed to live up to many people's expectations, according to the National Consumer Council. Research by the council has revealed many people entering retirement felt let down and disillusioned by the state pension....

Bid to open up European market.
March 8, 2004... The European Commission published the Ucits III directive in July 1998, amending the Ucits 1985 directive. The EC proposals, which were in two parts, were finally adopted by the European Parliament in December 2001 and are generally...

Managers queue up for Ucits III launch.
March 8, 2004... A swathe of fund launches is just round the corner, waiting for the Financial Services Authority to complete its overhaul of product regulation. Merrill Lynch Investment Management is planning to launch Ucits III compliant funds, pending...

Groups join forces on savings changes.
March 8, 2004... Industry bodies have proposed for an alternative Budget in a campaign for changes in savings and tax rules. The campaign includes the abolition of stamp duty on share transactions and raising the capital gains tax threshold. The...

Cofunds way ahead in supermarket contest.
March 8, 2004... Cofunds outpaced its competitors last quarter in terms of fund sales, according to figures obtained by Investment Adviser. The platform took AGBP390m in the fourth quarter of 2003. This is understood to be 50 per cent more than its closest...

The beginning of the endgame.
March 8, 2004... The AITC has asked split capital providers to pay out and move on if the FSA has clinching evidence. This follows a Financial Services Authority announcement last week in which the regulator suggested split capital providers accused of...

Too much focus on tax wrapper -- Pru.
March 8, 2004... TOO many IFAs focus on the tax wrapper rather than the suitability of underlying investments, according to leading providers. Graham Crockford, investment development manager for Prudential, said: "When constructing appropriate portfolios...

Betting on the best ideas in a strong economy area.
March 8, 2004... Investment Adviser: How do the Isis European and the Isis European Prime funds differ? Davina Curling: The European Prime fund is a more aggressive, more focused fund than the European, with a higher risk profile. It has between 30 and 50...

F&C IT to drop out of FTSE100.
March 8, 2004... The Foreign & Colonial Investment trust is expected to leave the FTSE100 as institutional investors sell out. The share price of F&C IT, the oldest UK investment trust, launched in 1868, has fallen sharply in recent weeks. Having traded on...

Beware perma-bears.
March 8, 2004... I have always found it easier to adopt an occasionally bearish view on markets. Whether it was revulsion at the blind, self-congratulatory madness of the 1980s housing boom in the UK or the economic gibberish of the technology boom of the late...

How strong is Tiner's hand?
March 8, 2004... The Association of Investment Trust Companies is right to say that splits investors who have lost money "are in need or restitution" (see page 27). The splits crisis has cast a pall over the investment industry for far too long and needs a...

Schroder Tokyo to stay in good hands.
March 8, 2004... Mention Japan unit trusts to most intermediaries and I would expect to hear Denis Clough's name coming up in the conversation nine out of 10 times. So it is with considerable sadness I see Mr Clough go off on a long sabbatical. Although he has...

Growth provokes China bubble fears.
March 8, 2004... China evokes some of the strongest views in financial markets. The fast growing Asian nation has been lauded as a dead-cert economic and investment winner. Some commentators predict China will command 25 per cent of global market-cap by 2050....

Travelling along the silk superhighway.
March 8, 2004... When Marco Polo made his epic journey along the Silk Road in the late 13th Century, Imperial China saw itself as the centre of the civilised world. Subsequently, its power waned and it drifted into relative obscurity, although its porcelain and...

Ignore income at your peril.
March 8, 2004... The Bank of England raised base rates by a further 0.25 per cent to 4 per cent in February, adding to the rise it had initiated in November. The Monetary Policy Committee believes that prevention is better than cure, and is looking to deter...

The dangers of overheating.
March 8, 2004... The investment story for China has been much vaunted, particularly in recent months. The economic and market statistics are impressive and compelling. However, as with investing in any emerging market the headline-grabbing figures and arguments...

Monkey business.
March 8, 2004... China indisputably stole the show in 2003. Rapid economic expansion, mirrored by an impressive rise in the share prices of China-related companies, forced it into the spotlight of the investment world. This new powerful engine of growth has...

A balanced march forward.
March 8, 2004... It all started a few months ago. We were seeing tremendous gains in Hong Kong where, in December alone, the Chinese "H" share index gained over 30 per cent. We were also witnessing large upward moves in stocks worldwide that had a Chinese story...

Right tool for the right job.
March 8, 2004... The current fashion in pension funds is matching assets with liabilities. But might it be the right way to think about personal finances as well? John Shuttleworth of PricewaterhouseCoopers thinks it is. He says that humans have four kinds...

Running the risk.
March 8, 2004... Almost three years ago focus funds were greeted with much cynicism and scepticism from an industry prone to fads. Concentrated portfolios of between 25 and 40 stocks were seen by some investors and advisers as aggressive high risk, high return...

On the shoulders of the US.
March 8, 2004... The Asset Allocation UK Dynamic sector is susceptible to the fluctuations of the broader global economic environment. As a result, the stronger global economic outlook propelled by the strength of the US economy has certainly boosted the...

Rise threat fails to halt debt.
March 8, 2004... The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of England raised interest rates by a quarter-point to 4 per cent in the first week of February and is expected to continue increasing rates despite this month's hold. However, the prospect of further...

Firms asked to comment on FSA's performance.
March 8, 2004... INVESTMENT firms and IFAs have been asked to pass judgement on the FSA. All regulated FSA firms will be asked what they think of the performance of the financial services regulator. They will be asked to list the pros and cons of the...

Failing to keep things simple.
March 8, 2004... As it stands, the new Pensions Bill somehow contrives to be both welcome and inadequate. It promises greater security for defined benefit pension scheme members, better information, a more flexible approach to scheme funding, and better...

tim rees.
March 8, 2004... I have managed the Insight Investment Monthly Income Retail fund since January 1996. William Claxton-Smith is the fund's deputy manager. The first point to make is that we have an initial benchmark for the fund, which consists of 70 per...

Equity rise last year pays off for Rees.
March 8, 2004... Tim Rees has been at the helm of the AGBP58.30m Insight Investment Monthly Income Retail fund since January 1996. Until September 2002 the fund was known as the Clerical Medical Monthly Distribution fund. The fund has outperformed the...

Collins to take multi range to IFA market.
March 8, 2004... Collins Stewart is to bring its multi-manager funds to the IFA market. The stockbroker and asset manager firm has decided to market the Collins Stewart Balanced, Growth and Income fund of funds to intermediaries. The firm has plans to...

The right fund for the right reasons at the right time.
March 8, 2004... Regular readers of this column may be bored with my recommendation of the same funds for the same reasons so often when sectors come up for review. This week is no exception as I will now recommend for a fourth time the fund I recommended in...

Legg brings its Pacific onshore.
March 8, 2004... The Legg Mason Asia Pacific fund launched on 13 February is an onshore version of the offshore fund launched back in 1996. Batterymarch, an affiliated independent subsidiary of Legg Mason Investments, runs the fund in the US with David...

Key to success is a mixed risk profile.
March 8, 2004... The mix of fixed income with equities makes the Asset Allocation UK Dynamic sector a favourite among investors looking to boost their level of income. And investors in this sector over the past three-and-half years seeking income with low...

Ex-Merrill team celebrates strong first year for fund.
March 8, 2004... By Shaista Ahmed The AGBP11.9m Majedie UK Opportunities fund was launched 27 March last year and sits in the Equity UK sector. As the chart shows, the fund has significantly outperformed the sector average. The fund rose by 77.8 per...

Woolwich aims six-year FTSE100 plan at advisers.
March 8, 2004... Woolwich is targeting IFAs with a new six-year investment plan linked to the FTSE100. The Peak Performance Plan is designed to give investors all-out growth based on any rise in the FTSE100. Any growth payable will be based on the...

Abbey increases MVA on with profits range.
March 8, 2004... Abbey has raised the market value adjusters on its with profits bonds, despite seeing an increase in funds under management. In a contrary move to other providers, such as Norwich Union which last week said it was reducing the average MVA...

Fidelity and Skandia scoop top S&P awards.
March 8, 2004... Fidelity and Skandia dominated the winners' list at Standard & Poor's UK fund awards ceremony last week. Oscar-like trophies were handed out by Kenneth Clarke, former Chancellor of the Exchequer, at a dinner held at the Dorchester Hotel in...

Isis spends AGBP5m on beer, pizzas and coffee.
March 8, 2004... Isis' ethical Stewardship Growth fund has built its first stake in the previously "un-ethical" Whitbread. The UK's oldest ethical fund has invested 1 per cent of its assets in Whitbread, which was recently declared acceptable for the...

Demand up for active managed -- Schroder.
March 8, 2004... Demand for more actively managed funds is rising according to Schroder, which posted its end of year results last week. The group came in ahead of analyst's expectations, recording pre-tax profits of AGBP65.6m for the year ending 31...

'Sleepy' agriculture stocks boost Insight's Asia funds.
March 8, 2004... WHEAT, beef and palm oil are providing an unseen Asian boom driven by Chinese demand and underinvestment. Soft commodities have been matching the harder commodities such as copper and nickel that have been reaching peaks. Managers at...

Asset Value to change benchmark.
March 8, 2004... The European Asset Value fund will change its benchmark on 1 April. A statement by the fund's managers Asset Value Investors said it would benchmark the performance of its portfolio against the European Public Real Estate Association...

Marlboro' signs deal with Selestia.
March 8, 2004... Marlborough Fund Managers has signed an exclusive deal with Selestia to offer its funds on the Selestia platform. This deal will add a further six funds to Selestia's platform and takes the total number of funds available through Selestia...

Russian reforms lead to switch to tech, telecoms.
March 8, 2004... A predicted second term for the Putin presidency had Russian fund managers looking for alternatives to oil and commodities. Portfolio managers at the AGBP3m Credit Suisse said that continued reforms in Russia should lead to higher consumer...

CESR draws up plans for protection.
March 8, 2004... THE first stage in an investigation into consumer confidence in European investment firms has begun. The Committee of European Securities Regulators has outlined its proposals to give equivalent protection to investors across Europe. ...

FSA gets tough on timing after probe.
March 22, 2004... The FSA is pressing ahead with changes to fund rules after finding "some evidence" of market timing in the UK. Although market timing in the UK was not found to be widespread, Michael Foot, the Financial Services Authority's managing...

VCT tax relief will fail in long-term view.
March 22, 2004... NEW tax breaks on VCTs will not encourage a longer-term view of investing, say experts. The extension of income tax relief on venture capital trusts could mean investors clamouring to get their money back too soon, claimed Patrick...

Chancellor's Reit-style fund plan splits experts.
March 22, 2004... Gordon Brown's proposed property investment fund has been met with a qualified welcome from the industry. In his Budget speech, Mr Brown moved the launch of the PIF closer with the creation of a consultation into the structure. The...