Fund Strategy
28 July 2003

  • Asian growth will boost banks as loans pick up

    28 Jul 2003

    Hiscox FPK Far Eastern Financial fund manager David Astor thinks that Asian banks will benefit directly from what he predicts will be good relative growth in the region in 2004.He says: "If there is increased economic growth, companies take out loans from the banks. We expect Asian economies to pick up next year, which means loan demand will pick up and there will be an improvement in profitability for those banks."Astor thinks there have been positive developments in efforts ...

  • e.tr@der

    28 Jul 2003

    From: hugh.golder@dragonlife.co.ukTo: All investment staffSubject: Corporate restructuringThe continuing difficult market conditions and disappointing sales of investment products demand a fresh approach to the way in which we operate. Victoria Ovantine, the head of our investment operations, is leaving us to pursue her career elsewhere and I have asked Simon Brett, our chief financial officer, to take charge of Stella Asset Management and to conduct a full review of ...

  • Euro trust results due to telecoms and media

    28 Jul 2003

    The Fidelity European Values investment trust has reported a strong set of half-year results. In the six months to June 30, the net asset value of the £419.2m vehicle rose by 17.5%, while its benchmark - the FTSE World Europe ex UK index - increased by 10.6%.Trust manager Tim McCarron says the performance is partly because of the trust's exposure to the telecoms and media sectors, a position he is maintaining. Fidelity fund analyst Victoria Quelch, who works with McCarron on ...

  • Fund manager's diary

    28 Jul 2003

    Monday A real treat to start the week. A day's sailing with Cazenove and Michael Slade (chief executive of property company Helical Bar) on his 97ft racing yacht, Leopard, in the Solent. A perfect day with a bit of a breeze, lots of sun and much schmoozing with fellow fund managers and brokers - fab. (Much better than golf any day.) Tuesday Retailing rally continues as British Retail Consortium numbers emphasise the great weather for clothing sales (not sofas though). See the corporate ...

  • Gartmore moves away from UK and Europe

    28 Jul 2003

    Gartmore has altered the investment objectives of its Global Opportunities fund in order to diversify exposure away from the UK and Europe.Previously, the fund had to maintain at least 50% exposure to Europe and the UK. The new manager, Chris Burling, says that he will now be able to invest in "the best markets, with the greatest investment opportunities, in wider geographical regions".In particular, he plans to take a larger exposure to Japan and the Pacific region now that ...

  • Glasgow Investment Managers

    28 Jul 2003

    Glasgow IsaType: Investment trust maxi-IsaAim: Income and growth by investing in choice of three Glasgow investment trusts Minimum investment: Lump sum £200 a trust, monthly £20 a trust Maximum investment: Lump sum £7,000, monthly £583Catmarked: NoInvestment choice: Choice of Shires Income, Shires Smaller Companies and Glasgow Income trust Charges: Initial 1%, annual 1%Special offer: Initial charge waivedOffer period: Until December ...

  • Good times for the eternal pragmatist

    28 Jul 2003

    The very existence of that über-aristocratic institution Cazenove makes one's job at the left-leaning Guardian almost a little too easy. I'm not exactly at the class warfare end of the office, but it is delightful to discover that the head of private wealth management at Cazenove goes under the name of Crispin Money-Coutts. Not much chance Crispin was going to be a social worker, one suspects.But it is just as delightful to discover how, well, normal, this once deeply unapproachable ...

  • Greenwood sells and buys into Framlington

    28 Jul 2003

    Iimia Accelerated fund manager Nick Greenwood has bought into the Framlington Innovative Growth investment trust after deciding to sell Henderson Smaller Companies.Greenwood thinks the Framlington trust has been overlooked: "It is priced as if it is going to underperform, but in past experience that seems unlikely."Greenwood has also bought into Invesco's Real Estate Opportunities split-cap, originally an Aberdeen trust, which is invested in Irish property. His interest was ...

  • Guy says strong euro will impact earnings

    28 Jul 2003

    Manager of the Gartmore European Selected Opportunities fund Roger Guy says he remains concerned that European companies' earnings will disappoint towards the end of this year.Guy believes the strong euro will impact earnings, and the fund is therefore positioned cautiously. He says: "We are still underweight in aggressive stocks. We believe there are still problems ahead in insurance and banking, for example. We are keen on sectors with more visibility."Guy is avoiding technology ...

  • High returns from property portfolio

    28 Jul 2003

    Close Property Investment managing director Anthony Wyld says its new commercial property fund, Quartet, could return 10-20% a year.Wyld says the company has identified properties that can have their leases extended, in the process significantly increasing their value: "People will pay an awful lot for a long lease with a tied-in tenant for many years."The new fund, which will be actively managed by specialist property group Catalyst, will invest in a portfolio of shopping centres, ...

  • Investec loses Podger to Threadneedle

    28 Jul 2003

    Jeremy Podger is leaving Investec to join Threadneedle as part of its global equity team.Podger ran the £57m Investec Global Free Enterprise fund and the offshore Investec Strategic Value fund. He was also head of Continental European institutional equities. Nick Mottram, head of equities, will take over day-to-day management of the funds.Podger had managed the fund since April 1996. The onshore fund dropped 24.5% in the three years to July 14, leaving it eighth out of ...

  • Merrill Lynch Investment Mgrs

    28 Jul 2003

    MLIIF Corporate Bond Fund (Euro)Type: SicavAim: Growth by investing in euro-denominated investment-grade bonds Minimum investment: Lump sum $5,000Place of registration: LuxembourgInvestment split: Financials 39%, telecoms 16%, utilities 16%, government bonds 16%, industrials 7%, cash 6% Charges: Initial 5%, annual 1%Commission: Initial 3%Tel: 00 352 342 0101Sarasin Investment Management has unveiled the Sarasin Income Portfolio, an onshore Oeic mirroring ...

  • Mid-caps lose their appeal for Parker

    28 Jul 2003

    Mid-cap stocks have started to hold less appeal for some fund managers because they are relatively expensive compared with stocks in the FTSE 100. M&G Income fund manager Jonathan Parker is taking a contrarian view to his peers.Parker says: "Most income fund managers are overweight mid-caps at present, but from a valuation point of view they look quite expensive compared with the FTSE 100 and in terms of momentum going forward." Currently, he is 4-5% overweight mid-caps, but ...

  • My Asset Allocation

    28 Jul 2003

    I would concur with the expectations of this investor that further strength in equity markets is likely for the balance of the year. We are faced with the encouraging prospect of further fiscal and monetary stimulus combined with a tentative economic pick-up in the US in particular. Equity markets are still attractively priced on most measures, and particularly so relative to bond yields and short interest rates.At the time of writing, the second-quarter US results season looks ...

  • My Asset Allocation

    28 Jul 2003

    This investor is clearly comfortable with risk, but any portfolio bias must always be tempered by diversification. Markets have recovered well over the last four months and small and mid-caps have outperformed as risk appetite has returned to the market. However, I believe that they are close to fair value in comparison with large-caps, and going forward it would be wise to spread investments across the capitalisation spectrum. A good fund manager should understand where the best value ...

  • New biotech interest wakes up dormant sector

    28 Jul 2003

    The long-dormant biotechnology sector is set for renewed investor interest, according to Gil Knight, manager of the Govett US Opportunities fund.Knight says demographic changes, more liberal regulations and the prospect of M&A activity will all boost the sector. Ageing populations create more demand for healthcare and Knight points out that the US population is set to double by 2025.Senior citizens will make up 18.5% of the US population compared with the current 12.6%, ...

  • Roar power

    28 Jul 2003

    As Tony Blair's recent visit made evident, China commands a new respect among foreign leaders who realise that its strength and influence as a global economic power are impossible to ignore. It has been a sole beacon of growth in the sluggish global economy and looks like reporting the fastest GDP growth of any major nation for this year.This may seem a positive in the face of the weakness of the US. Surely it is encouraging that a country is able to drive forward global growth ...

  • Sarasin Investment Mgmt

    28 Jul 2003

    Sarasin Income Portfolio FundType: OeicAim: Income by investing in bonds, equities and fixed interest securities Minimum investment: Lump sum £1,000Investment split: Bonds 73%, equities 22%, cash 5%Yield: 4% gross a yearIsa link/Pep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 4%, annual 1.25%Commission: Initial 3%, renewal subject to negotiationTel: 020 7246 0430

  • Schroders setback as trio move over to Insight

    28 Jul 2003

    Schroders' former head of sterling fixed income Robert Gall is moving to Insight Investment along with Andrew Wickham and Richard Dryer.Insight poached the trio just three weeks after Gall - one-time manager of the £130.9m Schroder Corporate Bond and £54.1m Schroder Monthly High Income funds - returned from a sabbatical. Schroders has appointed Jeremy Cave as the new head of sterling fixed income, a position Wickham had taken on when Gall went on leave.Cave will now ...

  • Should investors chase the dragon?

    28 Jul 2003

    When a country has more than a billion people and an economy expanding at 6.7% a year (if the government is to be believed), it cannot be ignored by investors. China may be communist, but it has been embracing capitalism for some time. As it drags itself into the modern world, will investors benefit? And who will lose out? Cherry Reynard examines the waking giant in this week's cover story on page 14.The world economy will benefit if the Chinese start buying foreign goods with their ...

  • Tilney Investment Management

    28 Jul 2003

    Tilney UK Smaller Companies FundType: OeicAim: Growth by investing in UK smaller companiesMinimum investment: Lump sum £500, monthly £100Investment split: Cyclical services 28%, financials 12.6%, general industrials 12.1%, basic industries 10.5%, information technology 10.5%, non-cyclical consumer 9.0%, non-cyclical services 4.6%, resources 4.2%, investment trusts 3%, cyclical consumer 1.4%, cash 4.1% Isa link/Pep transfers: YesCharges: Initial 4%, ...

  • Tobacco stocks attract Temple Bar

    28 Jul 2003

    The Temple Bar investment trust has outperformed its two benchmark indices - the FTSE All-Share and FTSE 350 Higher Yield - by 1.6% and 2.85% respectively in the six months to June 30.Trust manager Alastair Mundy says the outperformance was partly due to a bias towards mid-cap stocks. But he has recently been switching back into the FTSE 100, although he is still 6% underweight the senior index.At present, the big-gest overweight for Mundy (pictured) is tobacco. More than 6% ...

  • Two steps forward and one step back

    28 Jul 2003

    Percentage by which the top-performing fund, Quilter Global Income, was overweight or underweight in June compared with the geographical weightings of the FTSE World Index.The equity market rally continued in June, albeit at a slower pace. With many geopolitical concerns easing, markets focused more on economic concerns and corporate earnings.With most markets rising until June 18 and then falling during the remaining days, only the Far East and Japanese markets managed to retain ...

  • UK growth figures fail to meet target

    28 Jul 2003

    Fund managers are disappointed with second-quarter UK economic growth figures, which failed to meet expectations.GDP rose by 0.3% between April and June, falling below analysts' expectations of 0.4%, but was up 1.8% on last year, according to the Office for National Statistics.The service sector remained static and manufacturing was flat after declining over the past two years.A survey of more than 5,700 companies by the British Chamber of Commerce last week also pointed ...

  • Where substance and style go hand in hand

    28 Jul 2003

    MICHAEL BARAKOS, 26, is joint portfolio manager of the JPMF Strategic Value fund. He has been at JP Morgan Fleming since 1999, starting as a financials analyst, then becoming an assistant fund manager and moving to fund manager in 2002. Barakos joined JPMF straight from the London School of Economics, where he studied economics. He is also a CFA charter holder.Q: How do you adapt the JPMF process for this fund?A: Across the whole desk, we have an underlying barbell strategy. ...

  • World roundup

    28 Jul 2003

    Global trading was dictated by second-quarter results again last week. While the generally pleasing results curbed the market's inclination to profit-take, trading remained locked within a tight range and upside was tame.TMTNasdaq: 1701 from 1709Technology stocks were unable to break through technical levels last week, despite another solid round of industry earnings. Following on from the previous week's retreat, investors continued to cash in profits aggressively on ...

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