Fund Strategy
5 May 2008
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Artemis and Marathon given Witan mandates
5 May 2008
The board of the £1.2 billion Witan investment trust has awarded £75m active British equity mandates to Artemis and Marathon Asset Management. The trust has also added a £30m European portfolio for Varenne Capital Managers by reducing its cash position.
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Bank report prompts mixed reaction
5 May 2008
The Bank of England's half-yearly Financial Stability Report met with a mixed response last week. While some commentators focused on the Bank's upbeat assessment of the credit crunch, others claimed it was overly-optimistic.
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Barings goes for growth in China
5 May 2008
Barings launched the onshore open-ended Baring China Growth fund last week.
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BlackRock sheds ""Merrill Lynch""
5 May 2008
BlackRock Merrill Lynch Investment Managers has changed its name to BlackRock.
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Bradbury to be Omam's first head of equities
5 May 2008
Ashton Bradbury is to step down as manager of Old Mutual Asset Management's (Omam) UK Select Mid Cap fund to take up the newly created role of head of equities.
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Commodities fund breaks new ground
5 May 2008
Investec has launched the first total return commodities fund aimed at the British retail market. The Investec Enhanced Natural Resources fund, which will have a minimum investment of only £1,000, will invest in agriculture, energy, metals and mining.
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E.Tr@der
5 May 2008
Oh ye of little faith - 6,000 on the Footsie has been consigned to history. Even the banks have turned - despite HBOS and RBS asking shareholders to dip into their pockets.
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F&C's multi-manager head quits for new firm
5 May 2008
Richard Philbin, co-manager of F&C's multi-manager funds, has resigned from F&C to join a new independent multi-manager firm supported by Axa.
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Falling masonry
5 May 2008
House prices fall in rich countries and prompt low consumer confidence, while inflation causes rising house prices to slow in Asia. Sunil Jagtiani reports from Hong Kong on how the shaky underpinning will affect global economic growth.
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Fed cuts US rates by quarter point
5 May 2008
America's Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter point last week during a meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The widely anticipated move brings the country's benchmark interest rate to 2%, down from 5.25% last September. The Fed announced that rising energy and commodity prices may mean a pause in interest rate cuts but stressed that it would act to support the economy if necessary, leaving the way clear for further cuts.
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Fund Manager's Diary
5 May 2008
Monday The great Africa adventure begins in Nigeria, as I join five other investors on a JP Morgan investor trip. Most of us arrive in Abuja, Nigeria, at dawn, and get our first flavour of bureaucracy when it takes nearly an hour to get through immigration. I am impressed, however, when airport staff are able to return the glasses I left on the plane. Later, we meet various government officials fortunate enough to be based in Abuja instead of Lagos. Finally, tea at the ...
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Fund of funds performance data
5 May 2008
Over the past year the £243m Insight Investment Diversified Target Return fund has jumped up to the number-one spot within the Cautious Managed sector, according to Morningstar.
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High volatility sparks high fidelity
5 May 2008
The fund giant Fidelity International gained wide attention for its lacklustre showing in the 2006 bull market. Now turbulent global markets are helping it to recover its edge, writes Tomas Hirst.
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Hint of hope in land of the rising price
5 May 2008
Advisers continue to fight shy of Japan after a stream of gloomy economic data. But John Millar of Martin Currie sees positive signs in a probable interest rate rise and possible political change.
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IMA launches absolute return sector
5 May 2008
The Investment Management Association (IMA) has introduced an Absolute Return sector. The peer group was launched to cater for the growing popularity and number of absolute return themed products available to British investors.
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Indian central bank acts to safeguard stellar growth
5 May 2008
The greatest challenge facing India is maintaining a strong economic growth rate. Despite all the talk of India's rise as an economic power its population of 1.1 billion people still lives on an average annual income of only $2,700 (£1,350) per head.
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Invesco targets 6% with Europe portfolio
5 May 2008
Invesco Perpetual has launched a European High Income fund with a target yield of 6%. The portfolio, which combines equities and bonds, is run by Paul Causer, Paul Read and Katharina Hoyland.
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Jupiter appoints new joint MD
5 May 2008
Jupiter has appointed Paula Moore as joint managing director alongside Gordon Davidson. Before joining Jupiter in 1997 Moore worked at Fuji Investment Management Company and also spent six years at Personal Financial Management. She takes over from Jane Petkovic, who has stepped down as joint managing director with effect from last week.
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L&G duo concentrate on performance of trio
5 May 2008
Tim Gardner, co-manager of the three L&G multi-manager funds, talks to Frances Hughes.
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L&G rolls out its first three multi-manager portfolios
5 May 2008
L&G has launched its first three multi-manager funds. As reported in Fund Strategy (March 24), the L&G Multi-Manager Income and MM Growth funds are run on behalf of Bradford & Bingley, while it also runs MM Balanced.
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Lehman executive given new role
5 May 2008
Lehman Brothers has appointed Perry Hoffmeister as head of investment management for Europe and the Middle East. He joined the company in 1988 in its media investment banking group in New York. In 2000 he was named co-global head of the communications banking group. He ran the global communications and media groups from 2003 and moved to London in 2004. Since that year Hoffmeister has been co-head of the investment banking division for Europe and the Middle East.
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New Star reveals Indian Equity fund details
5 May 2008
Tata Asset Management will manage the New Star Indian Equity fund with a focus on growth at a reasonable price (Garp).
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Nucleus offers control and clarity to top ifas
5 May 2008
David Ferguson, the chief executive of Nucleus Financial, answers questions from Simon Hildrey.
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Only believe? If only that were enough
5 May 2008
Confidence is generally a positive quality but its importance should not be over-estimated. Someone might feel supremely confident that they can fly but if they jump off a tall building they are unlikely to be able to resist the force of gravity.
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Potash encourages healthy growth
5 May 2008
Chris Metcalfe, manager of Newton Income, says the fund outperformed others in its sector with a zero weighting in British banks and a preference for agriculture and telecoms.
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Stellar in Baltic link-up for property offering
5 May 2008
Stellar Asset Management has launched its first property fund, the Stellar Baltic States fund, and is set to roll out more. The funds, joint ventures targeting high net worth investors, will mainly invest in eastern Europe. They will aim for annual returns of above 10%.
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UK-domiciled funds take in £414m
5 May 2008
British-domiciled retail funds saw a net inflow for a second consecutive month in March, according to monthly statistics from the Investment Management Association. Of the £414m of inflows, £315m was inves - ted in bond funds, followed by £65m in balanced funds.
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Unusual remedies will help recovery
5 May 2008
Investors can improve the health of their portfolios with some unconventional remedies, such as smaller oil exploration and production companies - but stocks should be chosen with care.
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Waver belies promising prospects
5 May 2008
UK Equity Income funds have struggled because of their weighting towards banks and retail - both hit by the financial crisis. But the sector looks as though it could be regaining ground.
