Investment Adviser articles from October 2004

Investment Adviser archives from October 2004

First State's recruit boosts Latin.
October 4, 2004... FIRST State Investments is bolstering the Latin American debt expertise on its global emerging markets desk. Five months after the launch of its Dublin-listed AGBP7m Global Emerging Market Debt fund, Kevin Colglazier, head of global fixed...

UK Select moves from cyclical cos.
October 4, 2004... OLD Mutual fund manager Ashton Bradbury has underweighted cyclical stocks within his AGBP148.1m UK Select Mid Cap fund. Extra money has been invested in aerospace, construction and support services in light of Mr Bradbury's bearishness on...

Aberdeen reshuffles to shore up weaker VCTs.
October 4, 2004... Aberdeen has taken steps to address some of its weaker VCT offerings before the launch of its generalist VCT. Aberdeen confirmed that John Simpson, who ran the company's poor performing Murray Johnstone VCTs, and Jonathan Diggens, head of...

UK and Income are on top for August.
October 4, 2004... UK equity and Income funds are taking the main share of sales from a limited pool this month as investors move to more cautious investments, according to the IMA. The most popular sectors for sales were the UK All Companies sector, which...

Schroder looks likely to cap its Recovery within months.
October 4, 2004... Ben Whitmore has hinted at a cap for the retail version of his Schroder Institutional Recovery fund, launching in the UK on 26 November. Schroder announced its intention to launch a new share class of the fund, which will now be known as...

Matrix plans second Ascension.
October 4, 2004... Matrix is launching a second version of its AGBP8m Ascension Plan, linked to the Winton Trading Strategies fund. The company has brought out a structured product that offers full capital protection, as long as the investment is kept in the...

Delaware buy-out deal agreed.
October 4, 2004... Delaware Investment Advisers and private equity firm Hellman & Friedman have completed their management buy-out from Lincoln US's subsidiary Delaware International Advisers. The deal was worth AGBP96m to Lincoln US. Delaware...

Treasury set for overhaul of industry.
October 4, 2004... THE Treasury is committed to providing a fairer financial services market, claimed Paul Kirkman, head of savings and investment products. Speaking at the Financial Services Authority's Asset Management: Risk, Opportunity and Regulation...

Commission decisions to intermediaries: CA.
October 4, 2004... COMMISSION should be taken out providers' hands and put into the hands of the intermediary, according to the Consumers' Association. Speaking at the Financial Services Authority's asset management conference last week, Mick McAteer,...

S&P contract swells Amex wrap offering.
October 4, 2004... Amex's wrap will have more than four times the number of funds carried by the largest supermarkets, in a deal with S&P. The deal, tailor-made by Standard & Poor's, means the entire fund universe of UK registered funds on the fund analyst's...

Outsourcing for asset management to double.
October 4, 2004... THE market for outsourced asset management skills is set to double to AGBP97bn by 2007, according to research by Goldman Sachs. The paper, Sub-Advisory Uncovered, showed that insurers and national banks accounted for 53 per cent of the...

Trends force FSA into hedge funds rethink.
October 4, 2004... INDUSTRY trends and regulatory changes have forced the FSA to reconsider its stance on hedge funds. Hector Sants, managing director of the wholesale and institutional markets division of the FSA, said the regulator was reviewing its ban on...

New Asset property vehicle to raise AGBP4m.
October 4, 2004... A NEW property investment vehicle has been launched and established as a limited company. Asset Investments will invest in both commercial and residential properties. It aims to raise AGBP4m of equity through private individuals and...

FSA multi-tied report detailed.
October 4, 2004... FINAL rules for depolarisation are to be published as late as December, giving the industry less than a month to prepare. The regulator confirmed that the long-awaiting document is now due at the beginning of December. The FSA is...

New Star teleconference set for FoFs.
October 4, 2004... NEW Star fund of fund manager Mark Harris will address IFAs during a teleconference on 14 October. Mr Harris will brief advisers on the New Star fund of funds range, detailing investment strategy and giving an outline of New Star views for...

Watch social responsibility in portfolios, warns Isis.
October 4, 2004... ISIS Asset Management is warning advisers that companies in their clients' portfolios may not be managing their social responsibilities effectively. The 55-page report highlights bio-diversity as a growing risk factor for corporations. It...

performance: Global sector.
October 4, 2004... ATTENTION shifts this week to multi-managed funds falling within the Trustnet global multi-manager sector. The global sector includes fund of funds, and retail manager of manager funds, investing at least 80 per cent of assets in equities,...

Rathbone merges Tech fund.
October 4, 2004... Rathbone has merged its Technology and Global Companies fund, renaming it the Global Opportunities fund. The Rathbone Technology fund was launched at the height of the tech boom in 1999, but has since shown poor performance and assets under...

Isis's Philbin slams policy of secrecy from rivals.
October 4, 2004... ISIS fund of fund manager Richard Philbin has attacked the secrecy of rival multi-managers. Mr Philbin said the decision of some fund-of-fund providers to withhold full details of the weightings they held in underlying funds was less to do...

Needle switches over to minerals.
October 4, 2004... THREADNEEDLE Investments is placing its faith in minerals, according to its chief investment officer. The company will consolidate an existing overweight position in energy with plans to raise investment in the mineral sector, according to...

Pioneer tips tech, financial stocks.
October 4, 2004... Technology and Financials are favourite plays for the flagship AGBP2.9bn Pioneer fund. This is because the manager, John Carey, is bullish on prospects for service and technology companies to continue to ride concerns over the rising oil...

Price of oil is as high as it can go, claim analysts.
October 4, 2004... Oil prices have hit their peak and will begin to fall as demand cools, according to JPMorgan Fleming. As the prices of light crude oil, a benchmark for crude, touched a high just above $50 a barrel, markets have been pushed in to...

Isis warns on VCT tax rules change confusion.
October 4, 2004... Isis has warned investors in venture capital trusts to be wary of new tax rules when selling shares. The company has reminded investors who have subscribed for shares in the same VCT more than once, and then wish to sell, that shares...

LIA calls on Fos, FSA for annual industry checks.
October 4, 2004... The FSA and the Financial Ombudsman Service should publish annual health checks on the industry. The LIA called for a report as part of its response to consultation paper 04/12 which is reviewing the Fos. It suggested annual reports...

Witan's global changes fail to impress analysts.
October 4, 2004... Changes to the Witan investment trust have not gone far enough, according to analysts. Witan announced changes to its mandate, taking nearly half of the global portfolios away from Henderson. In response to a widening discount and...

Advance adjusts its open-ended limits.
October 4, 2004... An adjustment to the portfolio of the Advance Developing Markets trust has given it greater flexibility, says its manager. Nigel Wilson, manager of the AGBP138.6m trust run by Progressive Developing Markets, said that he now had the ability...

Skandia Sipp to roll out this year.
October 4, 2004... SKANDIA has confirmed the launch of its Sipp for the end of the year, with AJ Bell named as the underlying provider. The deal between life office Skandia and actuarial, trustee and administration company AJ Bell will allow advisers to...

Prue is set to depart Henderson.
October 4, 2004... Henderson Global Investors has lost another manager as Richard Prue resigned last week. Mr Prue, manager of the AGBP137.9m UK Capital Growth fund, is the latest in a string of departures from the company. This comes after the company...

Pensions threat from lease rules.
October 4, 2004... PENSION funds could be seriously damaged by changes to property lease legislation, according to the National Association of Pension Funds. The pensions industry trade body has hit out at government proposals for outlawing upward-only rent...

Info is key to pensions investors.
October 4, 2004... INVESTORS want clearer information about their pension funds and risk indicators, according to a survey. A survey by consultants Cicero Consulting and Brahm Research showed consumers greatly approved of many recommendations in the Treasury...

Cavendish set for new syndicate.
October 4, 2004... LONDON-based IFA Cavendish Young is launching its second commercial property syndicate. The new property is a tyre-fitting depot in the West Midlands with a total purchase price of AGBP485,000. The building is let to Kwik Fit. Initial...

Rensburg rides into top 10 on oil.
October 4, 2004... OIL and gas stocks have driven solid performance this year in Rensburg's UK Smaller Companies fund, says its manager. The AGBP54.4m fund has made it into the top 10 funds in the smaller companies sector over one year, rising by 27.6 per...

Investors wise to invest in UK Equity Income: Killik.
October 4, 2004... INVESTORS should seriously consider moving cash into UK Equity Income funds, according to Killik. Research by the private client advisory company suggested that the private investor could obtain an income from a basket of well-managed...

Investec raises short duration exposure.
October 4, 2004... Investec Asset Management is increasing exposure to short duration in its global fixed interest portfolios to combat interest rate risk. John Stopford, head of fixed income for Investec, said he believed interest rates would continue to...

Slow growth in European equities worries Insight.
October 4, 2004... Insight Investment has expressed concern about the lack of underlying growth in European equities. In its monthly investment and asset allocation outlook, Insight highlighted German companies in particular, which it said were suffering...

CSAM moves to high beta as Mott calls rally.
October 4, 2004... Credit Suisse's Bill Mott has predicted a short-term rally for UK equities, with his equity income funds moving into high beta to catch this. Mr Mott, who acts as consultant to fund manager Leigh Harrison on the Credit Suisse range of...

Majority vote to continue Henderson Smaller Cos.
October 4, 2004... A successful continuation vote on Henderson's Smaller Companies trust has been met with enthusiasm. Henderson confirmed that the AGBP227.9m trust passed the vote with a "substantial majority" and was pleased at the strong performance of...

Diversification soars in popularity.
October 4, 2004... advisers are raising portfolio diversification to save losses in a reflection of institutional funds' lead. Brooks Macdonald, Bestinvest and the Falcon Group have advocated the use of tighter asset allocation and exposure to absolute return...

Invesco quick to name its Asia replacements.
October 4, 2004... INVESCO Perpetual has moved quickly to appoint four managers to its Asia team. The news follows a month of speculation as to the future of the AGBP58.7m Hong Kong & China fund after lead manager Billy Chan announced he was stepping down...

US large-caps are where opportunities lie: Legg.
October 4, 2004... US LARGE-caps have not yet had their time in the sun, according to Legg Mason Investments. However, this area has many companies that are cash-rich and strong contenders to take advantage of this tight market for equities. Robert...

Turn the industry into a profession.
October 4, 2004... FUND-picking is like taking a punt on the 2.30 at Doncaster, according to Justin Urquhart Stewart. The director and co-founder of Seven Investment Management frowned on fund managers and IFAs who skimmed through past performance tables and...

Norwich changes to unfettered for Portfolio.
October 4, 2004... NORWICH Union has changed its funds of funds range within its Portfolio Investment bond from fettered to unfettered. The change will impact the Norwich Union Balanced fund of funds, Norwich Union Cautious fund of funds and Norwich Union...

Currie aims to double global funds.
October 4, 2004... MARTIN Currie aims to nearly double its global business over the next 12 months to AGBP4bn, according to the company. The boutique manager, which has AGBP2.2bn in assets under management, will be helped in this push with the appointment of...

Too many cooks spoil the broth?
October 4, 2004... Sally Salt and Percy Pepper, terms used by wide-eyed celebrity chef Ainsley Harriott, were much in evidence at the launch reception of the Close Finsbury MultiAsset Portfolio. To mark the occasion, Close's Nigel Barnes, and Berry Asset...

Robbie records a Dahling tale.
October 4, 2004... Robbie Coltrane has been having much to do with magical beasts since taking on the role of Hagrid in the Harry Potter films. In his latest incarnation, Robbie appears narrating the story of the Minpins, Roald Dahl's final published book, over a...

Taking China in hand has paid off.
October 4, 2004... Following two decades of economic reform and growth averaging over 8 per cent, China has become an important driver of global economic growth. However, in April, due to increasing fears that China's economy would overheat, the Chinese...

Drip feeding is a good tack in range-bound markets.
October 4, 2004... Investment Adviser: Stock markets have been moving sideways since the beginning of the year. How long will they continue to remain range-bound? George Luckraft: It could continue for a bit longer as there is quite a lot of uncertainty out...

Patience is a virtue over markets.
October 4, 2004... At least two headline-grabbing market levels were breached last week. One of them -- the $50 barrier -- was the price of crude oil futures in New York trading. The other -- the 10,000 level -- was the index level of the Dow Jones Industrial...

Aberdeen pulls plug on team.
October 4, 2004... The long-suffering supporters of Ross County, the most northerly side in the British leagues will have to suffer some more, as Aberdeen Asset Management has decided to withdraw the free post-match mini-bus service from the stadium to the town...

Measuring the importance of unit trust size.
October 4, 2004... Does size matter when it comes to unit trusts? There is some evidence in the hedge fund industry that smaller funds perform better than large ones. Many hedge managers close to new business, for fear that excess capital will lower their...

High oil prices will bring investment opportunities.
October 4, 2004... HIGH oil prices today mean an investment opportunity in the future, according to DWS Investments. David Chellew, senior market analyst at DWS Investments, launched Track Two of Financial Adviser Expo 2004 in Harrogate, by revealing soaring...

Building foundations for property trusts.
October 4, 2004... In March, the government published a consultation document which invited views about the possible introduction of a new form of tax advantaged property investment vehicle, commonly known as a real estate investment trust, or Reit. The...

The great divide.
October 4, 2004... There has been a sea change in investors' attitudes to UK commercial property over the past few years. With the UK equity market dropping and then drifting since the end of 1999 and concerns about interest rate rises affecting sentiment...

Absolute truth about returns.
October 4, 2004... The investment industry likes its homely aphorisms: fund managers love to "eat their own cooking", often while they are "sticking to their knitting". No mean feat of multi-tasking. Another hackneyed phrase often bandied about is that funds...

A case of wait and see.
October 4, 2004... Arecent report by the Investment Property Forum, British Property Federation and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, suggests AGBP35bn would flow into the UK property market if low risk investors were able to increase their investment...

Taxing questions.
October 4, 2004... In the 2004 Budget, the chancellor announced the launch of a consultation on property investment funds (Pifs). These are intended to be funds similar to real estate investment trusts (Reits), with a tax status more akin to direct ownership than...

In the market for protection.
October 4, 2004... The Money Market GBP sector took in just under AGBP23m over the past year, reflecting reduced risk aversion among retail investors following the resurgence in global stock markets after March 2003. This modest 0.9 per cent rise pushed up...

Investing in water, water everywhere.
October 4, 2004... Every so often it is nice to do a departure from the mainstream. This particular fund is one of those. The trust launched in February 2002 and invests in energy, water and waste. The company is managed by Impax Asset Management which is an...

Manager Comment - Andrew Dickinson.
October 4, 2004... I HAVE been running this fund for three-and-a-half years after Faye Watson left the company and the industry. I am supported by Richard Balfour and together we run all of Credit Suisse London's short duration funds in sterling, dollars and...

Good rate calls help aid Credit's Cash fund.
October 4, 2004... The AGBP12.6m Credit Suisse Cash fund was launched on 4 January 1999 and is managed by Andrew Dickinson. The fund is benchmarked against the three-month interbank sterling rate, and has been awarded four S&P fund stars. The fund fell in...

Capital protected in Money Market.
October 4, 2004... ALL funds in the Money Market sector protected investors' capital while keeping risk at bay. The RAP of all 36 funds in the FTFR table opposite was in positive territory, with the AGBP116.4m Schroder Offshore Cash delivering the best figure, at...

Old sterling, new classification.
October 4, 2004... Should one hold big cash reserves, and if so, should they be held in sterling? Last time my view was that this is the only sector where I have not recommended any fund at all. Indeed, that was a good time to issue a long-range storm warning and...

Reit place, reit time.
October 4, 2004... With other asset classes such as equities and bonds drawing more attention and appearing more attractive, investors have, on the whole, allocated only a small proportion of their funds to property over the past decade. That is now changing,...

Gambhir will manage Euro Dynamic launch.
October 4, 2004... JPMorgan Fleming has launched a high-conviction European Dynamic fund to UK investors. Ajay Gambhir, manager of the AGBP219.6m UK Dynamic fund, will run the fund together with James Elliot co-head of the JPMF European Equities. The...

The straightforward sector.
October 4, 2004... By Ashutosh Kumar The Money Market GBP sector has done what it says on the tin -- protect investors' capital in times of volatility. The Money Market GBP sector was up 8.93 per cent over three years to 2 August, according to Standard &...

Framlington CIO eyes global focus.
October 4, 2004... Framlington's new chief investment officer Jeremy Lodwick will bring a sharper focus to its global approach, according to the company. Mr Lodwick was appointed from Morgan Stanley Investment Management where he worked as chief investment...

Cazenove's Dynamic sets launch discount.
October 4, 2004... Cazenove is giving Neil Pegrum's new UK Dynamic fund a push with a launch discount and tie-up with the Skandia pension platform. The initial charge on the Cazenove UK Dynamic fund, launched last week, will be reduced by 0.5 percentage...

Multi market set to consolidate.
October 4, 2004... THE multi-manager market should experience a period of consolidation in the next few years, according to Fidelity Investments. James Bampton, head of intermediary sales at Fidelity, said following a flood of offerings hitting the market in...

FSA gives go-ahead to Inter deal.
October 11, 2004... THE Inter-Alliance and Millfield merger has received final go-ahead from the FSA, creating the UK's largest IFA. The deal, which sees Inter-Alliance disappear from the London Stock Exchange, brings together the two loss-making IFAs after...

F&C managers get half of top roles in merger.
October 11, 2004... Foreign & Colonial managers are taking half of the top positions across the merged investment desk divisions. This constitutes something of a coup for F&C, considering it only has three open-ended retail funds for the UK market, despite its...

F&CAM ready to join the big boysRetail hedge plans are put on hold until next spring.
October 11, 2004... F&C Asset Management said it would be unlikely to launch any retail hedge products before Spring 2005. Initial thoughts were that Isis, which bought a 15 per cent stake in hedge fund boutique Cardinal Asset Management in July, would launch...

Foster to go after position snub.
October 11, 2004... James Foster, former head of credit at Isis, has been made redundant after being offered a reduced role. Mr Foster, who had been on a 10-week sabbatical, was offered a role managing the fixed income retail funds at the new company,...

White set to leave F&C Eurotrust.
October 11, 2004... Stephen White is to be replaced as manager of the Foreign & Colonial Eurotrust. He is the only internal investment trust manager within the combined business to be squeezed out as a result of the merger, which is expected to be completed...

Fidelity set for sterling India, China launches.
October 11, 2004... Fidelity is launching sterling versions of its India and China focus funds for the mass market. The Fidelity Funds India Focus and Fidelity Funds China Focus funds are sub-funds of the Luxembourg-domiciled Fidelity Sicav, but will now be...

Whitley set to fill the gap.
October 11, 2004... SARAH Whitley is to replace Anja Balfour as co-manager of Baillie Gifford's AGBP85.3m Japan fund. The Edinburgh-based fund manager has written to intermediaries to inform them about the news. Baillie Gifford said Ms Whitley, head of the...

Lazard flotation is likely: Barclays.
October 11, 2004... Speculation that Lazard is planning to list in New York increased following a meeting of its partners in Paris. The 11-strong board of the investment bank did not reach a decision about a flotation at last Tuesday's meeting, but analysts...

Guide to answer UK market issues: IMA.
October 11, 2004... The IMA has responded to evidence of UK market timing concerns by issuing a guide to assist managers of investment funds. Richard Saunders, chief executive of the Investment Management Association, said: "The industry was encouraged by the...

Barclays opens up multi range to UK.
October 11, 2004... BARCLAYS Investment Services has listed a range of multi-manager funds on the Irish stock exchange for UK investors. The Barclays Multi-Manager fund will also consist of 17 sub-funds spanning various regional and market-cap sectors which...

Omam shifts its bias to defensives ahead of lull.
October 11, 2004... Old Mutual Asset Managers' UK Select Smaller Companies fund has been positioned defensively in anticipation of a slowdown in growth. The lead manager, Daniel Nickols, who replaced Ashton Bradbury as the manager of the AGBP148.1m fund...

Insight's recruits boost equity team.
October 11, 2004... Insight Investment has replaced its international equities director and added a research specialist to the team. Following Stuart Cox's resignation from the asset management company last month, Jeff Atherton will join on 25 October as...

Strutt to launch into commercial property.
October 11, 2004... A new commercial property fund is expecting to do well because of the need for portfolio diversification. Strutt & Parker Real Estate Financial Services said that it expected to raise about AGBP20m in its second dedicated opening. This is...

Russian growth relies on strong domestic cos.
October 11, 2004... BETTER prospects for domestic stocks in Russia will help its economy grow, according to Jupiter. Elena Shaftan, manager of the AGBP108.2m Emerging European Opportunities fund, said the Russian economy had already grown by more than 7 per...

Legislation boosts new market growth.
October 11, 2004... EMERGING market growth should continue into the future as new legislation takes effect, according to JPMF. Tom Elliott, chief strategist at JPMorgan Fleming, said the asset manager expected further growth in markets such as Russia and Latin...

FSA moves to consult on investment requirements.
October 11, 2004... LISTING requirements for new investment managers taking on old funds are to be revised. The FSA is planning a comprehensive redraft of its requirements for listing either a new investment vehicle or a new investment manager appointed to an...