Investment Funds

The UK stock market has not been a comfortable place for investors or their managers in recent times. For the managers of Rensburg's UK Focus Trust the 4th quarter of 2007 was a testing experience as both small and mid-cap stocks came off badly in the volatile markets.

With UK and European equity markets opening sharply lower this morning led by miners and banks feeling the worst of the pain, the FTSE 100 Index has now declined by more than 20% since its peak last Autumn marking the technical definition of a ‘Bear Market'.

Expected increase in investor demand for inflation-linked bond products - as concerns over inflationary pressures continues.

Rising fuel costs are driving commuters out of cars onto public transport and helping boost the performance of bus and train operators.

Infrastructure and agriculture in Asia are two of the major investment themes favoured by David Urquhart, manager of the recently launched Fidelity Asian Aggressive Fund.

F&C has held a final close at EURO;173 million for its European focused mid-market private equity fund of funds, F&C European Capital Partners LP.

Head of Government Bonds at Threadneedle, Quentin Fitzsimmons comments on the European Central Bank's (ECB) rate rise: "It's no surprise that, the ECB raised its key benchmark interest rate by one quarter of a percentage point to 4.25%.

Paul Niven, Head of Asset Allocation at F&C Investments, comments on the rate increase by the European Central Bank: "As widely expected, the ECB raised interest rates today by a quarter point, to 4.25% and, surprisingly, President Trichet indicated that the move may signify the peak in rates.

Fidelity International's move into the commercial property market continues to gather pace with the announcement today of the first French purchase for it's recently launched Pan-European Real Estate Fund.

The nervousness precipitated by the US credit crisis has failed to dissipate on the financial markets. In 2008, concern about the quality and market value of some banking assets has prompted major financial institutions in the US, Europe and the UK to begin capital raising.

Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (SWIP) has been appointed by Russell Investments to manage a £20 million emerging market equities portfolio in accordance with Shariah principles.

Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the Investment Management Association (IMA) has called on the Treasury to introduce further tax reforms to allow UK funds to compete with other fund centres in Europe on equal terms.

Standard Life Investments (SLI), the global fund manager, has announced that German investors will be able to gain access to the company's entire Luxembourg-domiciled SICAV fund range via Frankfurter Fondsbank's broker platform in Germany.

Barclays Wealth is launching an enhanced range of capital protected investments as ongoing market turbulence continues to complicate market timing calls and increase the risk of capital loss.

HSBC Global Asset Management is to open its New Frontiers fund to select institutional and high net worth investors.

New Europe looks set for a sustainable period of solid growth driven by commodities, consumption and construction according to Oleg Biryulyov, manager of the JPMorgan New Europe Fund.

Commenting on recent oil price trends, Angus McPhail, Global Oil and Natural Resources Analyst at Alliance Trust said: "Fundamentals rather than speculation are driving oil prices higher. Oil markets remain tightly controlled by supply and demand.

As independence day approaches on 4th July, Aled Smith, manager of the M&G American Fund finds cause for celebration in the US market by focusing on bottom up stock selection.

Sebastian Radcliffe, Manager of the Jupiter North American Income Fund, comments on current threats and opportunities in the US market.

F&C Investments, a leading investor in emerging markets, is maintaining a selective approach within its global emerging markets (GEM) products following the recent sell-off.

The majority of investors invest in funds to achieve a diversified portfolio (63 per cent), according to research from Barclays Stockbrokers.

Schroders has launched the Schroder ISF Global Emerging Market Equity Commodity Fund. The Fund will invest solely in emerging market commodity stocks and is designed to give investors exposure to some of the worlds fastest growing and most important commodity companies.

Responding to the TUC's sixth annual survey on fund manager voting, Richard Saunders, Chief Executive of the Investment Management Association, said: "The TUC survey finds that three quarters of fund managers responding to it make voting data available publicly.

A hard core of investment fund managers still refuse to reveal how they voted at company AGMs and unless this changes soon, the Government must use its reserve power to force fund managers to disclose their voting records in a standard form, says a new TUC report.

With the UK housing market continuing to weaken, unemployment ticking higher and inflation rising above the Bank of England's upper 3.0% limit, Chris Burvill, manager of the Gartmore Cautious Managed Fund, continues to invest defensively, with equities remaining at his fund's lower limit of 40%.

A European income fund of funds, the Elite Integrity European Income Fund designed to fill a key gap in the equity income sector, is due to launch on 7 July 2008 with a high yield remit. The Fund will have a 14 day initial offer period where investors can take advantage of receiving a fixed price of 100p.

Investor faith in one of the UK’s most popular sectors, the Investment Management Association's Cautious Managed sector, has been rewarded with grim returns in the past 12 months, according to fund data analyst Moneyspider.com.

This Independence Day SPA ETF, the pioneering ‘second generation’ Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) provider that uses MarketGrader for its investment methodology, says that US large cap stocks are now set to perform strongly on a relative basis over the coming years.

Kathryn Matthews, Asia CIO for Fidelity International, says an economic slowdown in the US will have an impact on Asian profits, but despite current volatility in the market, GDP growth in the region should remain high, albeit off recent peaks.