Investment Adviser articles from October 2007

Investment Adviser archives from October 2007

All about asset allocation.
October 1, 2007... The (IMA) Cautious Managed sector is a difficult area for investors to understand. Many of the offerings are funds of funds and their exact exposures to different asset classes and areas of the market can be opaque. Moreover, the term...

OPM plans to broaden its fund range.
October 1, 2007... Multi-manager specialist OPM Fund Management is planning to add a new fund to its range, focusing on international funds and equities outside the UK. Tony Yousefian, investment director at OPM, said: "Our intention is to add to our stable...

IMA shows members yield draft proposals.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Association looks to standardise approach to calculating yields with FSA backing The IMA has begun showing its members draft proposals for standardising the way managers publish yields. The industry body said it had "become...

FSA criticises way with-profits are run.
October 1, 2007... The FSA has slammed groups running closed and open with-profits funds under its Treating Customers Fairly policy. In a letter to chief executives, the watchdog said it was clear there were shortcomings with the independent input into the...

North goes for gold as fear of dollar plunge takes hold.
October 1, 2007... North Investment Partners is topping up its funds' exposure to gold in anticipation of a weakening US dollar. John Husselbee, chief executive of the company, said the prospect of intense pressure on the American currency was a major worry....

F&C focuses on ethical products.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Investment company expands its Stewardship suite of funds F&C Investments is continuing to bolster its green credentials, with the launch of an Ethical Bond fund. The fund, which went live this week, is a Ucits III open-ended...

Reits hit hard by property woes.
October 1, 2007... Real Estate Investment Trusts are almost universally trading at a discount, owing to a marked decline in investor sentiment towards property, it has been revealed. Mike Prew, a property analyst at Lehman Brothers, said Reits had been...

Watchdog insists it performed solidly as it tried to head off summer's liquidity crisis.
October 1, 2007... The FSA wrote to the major banks in August asking them to disclose liquidity positions, it has emerged. Criticism has been mounting over the regulator's handling of the credit crunch and, in particular, its failure to forsee the collapse...

Witan shake-up leads to change of mandate.
October 1, 2007... Byline: AGBP1.4bn global growth giant's benchmark overhauled and exposure to Asia increased A shake-up in the Witan Investment Trust has led to the awarding of a new global mandate, overhauling the trust's benchmark and increasing its...

IAF ready to invest Natural Resources.
October 1, 2007... IAF Securities is poised to begin investing its new Natural Resources Enhanced Return plan, which goes live on 26 October. The product runs for a six-year term and is linked to a basket of four commodities comprising copper, nickel, zinc...

Invesco Perpetual fund hit hard by US credit crunch.
October 1, 2007... Invesco Perpetual's AGBP32.2m US Smaller Companies fund has been hit hard by the country's credit crunch, significantly underperforming its peer group. The fund, which is managed by Ian Brady, returned 3.2 per cent for the three years to...

Asset manager tips US large-cap stocks.
October 1, 2007... Byline: PSigma says sterling investors underweight in North America should rejoin market PSigma Asset Management is betting on an "imminent inflection point in US large-cap growth indices", as it prepares to roll out its American Growth...

Fortis' Romanian Eagle soars.
October 1, 2007... Fortis Fund Services has launched a new closed-end fund to capitalise on the Romanian property market. The Romanian Eagle Land fund - which has so far raised AGBP6m in initial subscriptions - will be run in conjunction with Romanian-based...

Credit-derivatives threat highlighted.
October 1, 2007... Equity markets might have rallied on the Fed rate cut, but credit derivatives could provide the next threat to market stability, Rathbone Unit Trust Management has warned. Julian Chillingworth, its chief investment officer, said: "There...

OBSR says business as usual as it prepares for single life.
October 1, 2007... It is "business as usual" at Old Broad Street Research, which severed from Forsyth Partners at the start of September. OBSR director Richard Romer-Lee said he was "saddened" by Forysth's descent into administration but said the ratings...

Advertising revenue key to mobile phone profits.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Global brands to spend billions beaming their products to consumers' handsets Mobile phone technology returns are expected to surge, making it the next dot.com sector, F&C Investments said last week. Companies such as Nike,...

Better regulation needed in financial services: Darling.
October 1, 2007... Alistair Darling called for effective regulation of the international financial services industry last week, saying institutions should not be allowed to hide "risky investments" from their balance sheets. Mr Darling used his inaugural...

Hargreaves removes Norwich Union fund.
October 1, 2007... Hargreaves Lansdown has removed the AGBP165.9m Norwich Union Managed High Income fund from its recommended list. Alexander Davies, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: "The manager's stock selection has been erratic and this has...

CLI, ARC roll out three best ideas.
October 1, 2007... Canada Life International has teamed up with Asset Risk Consultants to launch three new best ideas funds. The Conservative, Balanced and Growth portfolios will comprise 10 funds each, picked using ARC's quant systems. Prospective...

JOHIM trains eyes on high net worth.
October 1, 2007... JO Hambro Investment Management is to focus its fund management business on high net worth individuals to distinguish it from its Waverton brand. Most of JOHIM's funds were brought under the Waverton brand earlier this year, but the...

Emerging market debt fund managers take bullish stance.
October 1, 2007... Emerging market debt managers have taken bullish stances over the past month with global sovereign bonds and emerging European debt topping the buylist. According to figures from S&P Fund Services, credit classes in emerging markets have...

Volatility and US rate cut divides managers.
October 1, 2007... Byline: While some managers fear recession others are keen to seize buying opportunity Market volatility and the US interest rate cut has polarised opinion among managers, with one trust going 100 per cent cash, while others up their...

AIC calls on companies to tell FSA of outdated rules.
October 1, 2007... The FSA must purge outdated prescriptive regulatory rules to ensure British investment companies remain competitive, according to the Association of Investment Companies. Daniel Godfrey, director general of the AIC, urged companies to...

Bloxham ready to launch in UK.
October 1, 2007... Irish fund management group Bloxham is poised to make its first foray into the UK retail space with a global equity income fund. The group, which to date has approximately AGBP700m under management across seven Dublin-domiciled Oeics, will...

Impax raises AGBP105m from C-share issue.
October 1, 2007... Impax Environmental Markets has raised AGBP105m with the issuance of a C-share class. The addition has taken assets under management to AGBP370m. Ian Simm, chief executive of Impax Group, said: "The successful fundraising reinforced...

Spiers decamps from Bestinvest.
October 1, 2007... John Spiers, co-founder of IFA firm Bestinvest, is the latest figure to leave the company, after its takeover by private equity house 3i. Last month saw the departure of three of the company's top people, including former director Justin...

First State wary of fast-growth India.
October 1, 2007... India has become a tougher market from which to extract value, despite the country's stock markets reaching record highs last week, according to First State Investments. India's main stock index, the Sensex, surged past the 17,000 point...

Meteor updates structured products with Prima plan.
October 1, 2007... Meteor Asset Management has updated two of its product series with subscriptions for the Prima Growth Plan 4 which will close on 9 November. Meanwhile, dates for the commodities-based Galaxy Protected Plan 3 are to be announced shortly....

Swip plans new focus for its America fund.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Ford charged with task of implementing fresh direction for smaller companies fund Scottish Widows Investment Partnership plans to take its AGBP35m North America Smaller Companies fund in a fresh direction, following the appointment...

Hedge funds not to blame for fallout.
October 1, 2007... Hedge funds were not to blame for the market turmoil, the Edhec Risk and Asset Management Research Centre has claimed. The crisis instead was caused by diminishing confidence in financial information and the market's capacity to evaluate...

Skandia logo rebranded to match parent Old Mutual.
October 1, 2007... A rebrand has seen Skandia turn green to match its parent company Old Mutual. The company's new logo design will be rolled out across the group over an 18-month period, with all parts of the worldwide Skandia Group using it by June 2009....

Conviction is way to go, says Standard Life.
October 1, 2007... Byline: New European small-cap fund will target only 40 to 60 of firm's most favoured stocks Standard Life Investments has launched a European Smaller Companies Sicav fund. The sub fund, which forms part of SLI's Luxembourg-domiciled...

Emerging markets weather the storm.
October 1, 2007... Schroders' head of emerging markets has called the region "a safe haven", after the MSCI emerging markets index rose to an all-time high last week. The index has erased the losses it suffered during the summer correction, finishing up 25...

Trade body calls for improved reporting.
October 1, 2007... Asset managers globally need to change the way they report back to investors, according to the CFA Institute Centre for Financial Market Integrity. Last week, the CFA released a white paper recommending a new model for financial reporting...

Pearl set to enter the battle for Resolution.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Life company thought likely to put a cash offer on the table as early as this month Speculation mounted last week that life company Pearl was on the brink of making a cash offer for Resolution. Resolution's fund managers will...

Opportunities fund raises its first AGBP10m.
October 1, 2007... Octopus Investments has raised AGBP10m seed funding for its Opportunities fund. The company's first Oeic, opened in July, has a target size of AGBP50 million. Its seed class shares had an annual management charge discounted from 1.5 per...

Lyxor's LSE-listed ETF to track Japanese Topix index.
October 1, 2007... Lyxor Asset Management has launched a Japanese Topix ETF on the London Stock Exchange. The ETF provides exposure to a variety of Japanese securities listed on the index. The firm said the listing will provide the impetus for an...

Manager says financial sector faces hard times.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Consumer debt and housing market slowdown will add to pain, says Newton's Russon economy by Catherine Neilan The financial sector is yet to face its toughest time, according to the manager of Newton UK's AGBP220m...

Volatility highlights the need for change.
October 1, 2007... Byline: IMF's stability report calls for regulatory framework to be re-examined and enhanced Modern financial instruments and markets are being truly tested for the first time by current volatility - and practices may need to change,...

Korean shares could benefit from sub-prime silver lining.
October 1, 2007... South Korea could benefit from volatility triggered by the sub-prime crisis in the US, according to Atlantis Investment Management. The country's main stock exchange, the KOSPI, hit all-time highs in July but fell 18 per cent over in the...

Currency company fears sterling drop.
October 1, 2007... Investec's currency managers have moved their exposure to sterling from an overweight to underweight position in anticipation of increase volatility. In a risk-averse market and after what it called 'disappointing' macro-economic...

Multi-managers prove to be most popular with IFAs.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Roadshow report reveals advisers plan to increase client exposure to model that brought in AGBP4.5bn last year The popularity of multi-manager funds will increase over the coming year, according to a survey from September's...

Investors too dependent on the Anglo-Saxon economies.
October 1, 2007... Investors' portfolios are too heavily exposed to the developed world, according to Seven Investment Management. The dependence on the UK and the US has seen investors hit hard by the market turmoil that dominated the two countries over the...

Schroders aims to uncover climate winners and losers.
October 1, 2007... The managers of Schroders' new Climate Change fund are aiming to uncover the "winners and losers" of climate change. The unconstrained fund, which was launched last week, is managed by Simon Webber and Matthew Franklin and has a global...

FSA and Rock in 'daft' rap.
October 1, 2007... Compliance teams at the FSA and Northern Rock took heavy criticism last week for their "daft" approach to risk management. Ben Goh, secretary of independent organisation Compli-ance Register, said the scale of the crisis could have been...

Watchdog worried by 130/30.
October 1, 2007... The FSA has raised concerns over the plethora of 130/30 funds launched, saying their development has not been connected to consumer demand. Clive Briault, managing director for retail markets at the FSA, said he had been surprised at the...

PFB launches closed-end data centre property fund.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Firm investing in UK commercial property to raise AGBP50m with intention of developing data centre sites Pinder Fry & Benjamin has launched a closed-end property fund focusing on the development of data centres. The...

Octopus Ventures is formed after deal acquiring Katalyst.
October 1, 2007... Octopus Investments has acquired private investor group Katalyst Ventures. The VCT and UK smaller companies fund manager has bought a majority stake in Katalyst, which was formed to provide capital and business expertise to growing...

Fidelity investment head in drive to boost development.
October 1, 2007... The new head of investments for Fidelity Investment's Multi-Manager business is set to build up the group's analytical reach in an attempt to draw in more investment. Geraldine Stewart, who was appointed last week, said she has ambitious...

IdB in funds' transfer.
October 1, 2007... Three Insinger de Beaufort multi-manager funds have been transferred to specialist firm Arch, for an undisclosed sum. The range of funds, which was launched in November 2002, has about AGBP85m under management. As a result of the...

Fidelity pushes market funds.
October 1, 2007... In an apparent move to capitalise on public anxiety over Northern Rock, Fidelity International has touted money market funds over cash deposit accounts. Richard Wastcoat, UK managing director of Fidelity, said: "Savers nervous about...

Credit Suisse is rebuilding team.
October 1, 2007... Credit Suisse has made two appointments to its fixed-income team as it continues to rebuild after a series of departures. Michael Leonard has been hired as director and portfolio manager to the UK fixed income team while Vicki Gedge has...

FSA sets out rules governing Sipps ahead of regulation introduction in November.
October 1, 2007... The FSA has outlined how its new conduct of business rules will affect Sipp providers when they come into effect on 1 November. The rules, which mark a shift from prescriptive to principle-based regulations, concern Sipps following their...

Sub-prime gearing blamed for the global credit crunch.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Researchers say that complex purchase vehicles led to some loans being multiplied as many as 100 times Alliance Trust has revealed some of the sub-prime debt at the root of the global credit crunch could have been multiplied as many...

FuturesETFs released.
October 1, 2007... ETF Securities is to release a new series of 29 ETCs tracking the Dow Jones AIG Commodity 3 Month Forward indices. The new vehicles will track 29 commodities, 10 baskets of commodities and offer two maturities. They are expected to list on...

Midas thinks it has touched gold in race to buy bargains.
October 1, 2007... Midas Capital has been snapping up structured products over the past fortnight to take advantage of a "small time-window" of bargains. David Thomas, head of business development at Midas, said a rise in volatility in structured product and...

F&C fears for China growth sustainability.
October 1, 2007... F&C Investments has highlighted certain sectors in China as being vulnerable. Peter Dalgliesh, manager of the AGBP193.2m Pacific Assets Trust, said: "The mainland market is expensive but growing fast. Asia has had a phenomenal run and we...

HSBC launches new indices.
October 1, 2007... HSBC has announced the launch of its climate-change benchmark index and a family of four investable global climate-change sub indices. The new indices are Climate Change, Low Carbon Energy Production, Energy Efficiency & Energy Management...

Wealthy investors to seek compensation.
October 1, 2007... UK-based investors have joined those seeking AGBP50m-plus settlements from Bear Stearns over misleading investment advice. Over the next few days at least eight London-based investors are expected to join legal action launched against the...

Northern gets nod from Arbuthnot.
October 1, 2007... Analyst firm Arbuthnot Securities has recommended private equity fund Northern Investors following a widening of its discount. The AGBP55m fund operates in the sub-AGBP100m market cap space. Following the imminent sale of a number of...

Manager's sale of majority holding costs him AGBP36.5m.
October 1, 2007... Former Absolute Capital fund manager Florian Homm has lost an estimated AGBP36.5m after he sold out of the Aim-listed fund he co-founded. The move came days after the company had to restructure five equity funds when it was found to have...

Old Mutual manager says Asia may be a safe haven.
October 1, 2007... Byline: The region's fundamentals are so strong that it is insulated from the credit crunch in the US and Europe Fundamentals in Asia mean the continent is uniquely placed to protect investors from the credit crunch, according to Old...

Offshore fund set to close.
October 1, 2007... Veritas has told investors it plans to soft close its offshore Asian fund when assets under management reach AGBP400m. As of 18 September the fund size was AGBP358.7m. Assuring existing investors they would be able to increase their...

Abbey launches new issue of capital-guaranteed bonds.
October 1, 2007... Abbey has launched a new issue of four-year capital guaranteed deposit bonds. All branded Abbey Capital Guaranteed, the UK Equity bond is linked to the FTSE100 and offers 140 per cent of any growth in the index to a maximum of 40 per cent....

Property pipped at the post.
October 1, 2007... Last month's outflows from property funds saw the (IMA) Specialist sector lose its top billing for net retail sales, investment fund statistics have revealed. The sector, which has been the number one seller for 19 consecutive months, was...

OPM puts its trust in active management.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Investment in direct equities, ETFs and reverse convertibles enhances returns OPM Fund Management tries to produce absolute returns across its five multi-manager portfolios by using a combination of direct holdings and investing in...

Direct instruments key to OPM success.
October 1, 2007... The OPM team's in-depth knowledge of the direct UK equity market and various niche derivatives sets it apart from other multi-manager houses, according to investment director Tony Yousefian. He said years of experience had resulted in close...

IMA brings in a new director of wholesale.
October 1, 2007... The Investment Management Association has appointed Guy Sears as director of wholesale. Mr Sears left his role as deputy chief executive of the Association of Private Client Investment Managers and Stockbrokers in July. Mr Sears said:...

UK fund managers down in the dumps.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Survey reveals optimism among managers fell from +53 per cent in June to -73 per cent Sentiment among UK-based fund managers has dropped dramatically over the summer months, a survey has revealed. Fund managers had been the...

Global Equity rejigged.
October 1, 2007... MGM Assurance has made a series of changes to the portfolio of its Global Equity fund as part of its new direction focussing on the IFA market. The company has dropped UBS Asset Management from its multi-manager fund and replaced it with...

Japanese small caps get second wind.
October 1, 2007... Japanese smaller companies are poised to make a come back, according to iimia Fund Management. Richard Scott, manager of the AGBP64.7m iimia Growth & Income fund, said he had been topping up positions that have previously not performed...

Andrew Sutherland.
October 1, 2007... Investment Adviser: Could you tell me about your investment process and the structure of your team? Andrew Sutherland: Our process is really a combination of many things. We have a team - which will soon be 12 people - looking at credit. We...

Do not believe the fund manager hype.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Investors should be wary of placing too much faith in the opinions of fund managers The beguiling promise of active fund managers is they will apply the skill, judgement and experience to deliver investment returns greater than...

Is no one chasing the 'European' dream?
October 1, 2007... Byline: While no less productive, European workers spend less time at work than Americans do The aggregate amount of hours worked in the US and Europe has evolved differently over the last 35 years. In the 1970s, the average number of...

Time to put up.
October 1, 2007... Timing is everything in politics as in finance. Prime minister Gordon Brown's havering at the margins of a possible snap election reveals more of the man than 10 years as Britain's supposed 'Iron Chancellor'. Nerve is the one thing that...

Why prevention is better than cure.
October 1, 2007... Byline: US and UK institutions tend to take fiscal measures to stop financial sectors imploding The last few weeks have settled a debate in the financial markets - at least among the bears. For years, members of that camp have argued that...

Schroders puts Dionysus on ice.
October 1, 2007... Guests were amazed by the stunning ice sculpture at Schroders' annual cocktail party last week. The sculpture of Dionysus the Greek god of wine held everyone's attention. Unfortunately, as the night wore on, the ice inevitably began to melt...

Ruffer prepares for take off.
October 1, 2007... Diary suspects there may be a frustrated bard working in the wings at Ruffer Investment Services. Here is an excerpt from its monthly Total Return fund review: Pilot to ground control: "This is jumbo-liner The Miracle of Leverage, can you...

Portfolio profile is revealed.
October 1, 2007... Skandia Investment Management has revealed the market exposure of its new high-conviction UK Strategic Best Ideas fund, which went live on 19 September. The fund, split equally between 10 top industry names, allows each manager to chose 10...

Just little bit off the top please.
October 1, 2007... In recent weeks the pages of IA have been full of reports of Bestinvest's top brass moving on to bigger and better things. But this really is a case of hair today, gone tomorrow. Diary was amazed to hear that one of the company's advisers is...

Winterthur soars to new heights.
October 1, 2007... Diary is always pleased to hear tales of philanthropic feats from those in the fund management industry. Staff from funds platform company Winterthur reached new heights in September when they scaled southern Ireland's highest mountain,...

Keeping a clear head.
October 1, 2007... With market volatility, the credit crunch and widespread talk of being at the precipice of a worldwide recession, how have advisers, investors and fund managers reacted? Are they seeking the more cautious option with the mindset that we are at...

German Reits fail to spark a revolution.
October 1, 2007... In the past three years, writers have filled many column inches with growth stories waiting to happen in German property. Since Angela Merkel became chancellor in November 2005, hopes of a more business-friendly political climate have stoked...

Getting better all the time.
October 1, 2007... Byline: Despite their tumultuous past, investors should not completely discount split caps just yet While investment trusts as a whole, prior to the market turbulence of the summer, have been growing in popularity and attracting new...