Archive » 2004 » Issue 23 (September)
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Yuri Bender - Editor-in-chief |
Manufacturers pin hopes on high alpha
01 September, 2004
Although hedge funds offer manufacturers a lucrative revenue stream, not everyone agrees they should be treated as a separate asset class
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Bevan: ‘BSCH might have different view’ |
Abbey continues rollout of outsourcing initiative
01 September, 2004
BSCH takeover bid has has no effect on investment programme
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NEWS briefs
01 September, 2004
European markets to out-pace US, says ABN Amro
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Meurice: general manager of venture |
Open architecture plan launched by BNP Paribas
01 September, 2004
Yuri Bender reports on the French bank’s attempt to compete with consultants
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Wealth news
01 September, 2004
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‘IT spend in wealth management is set to surge by 5-10 per cent in the US’ Sebastian Dovey, Scorpio |
Drought ends for technology providers
01 September, 2004
After a period of five years where technology providers found the pickings slim in global wealth management, the appetite for solutions is picking up, particularly in Europe and North America. Budgets appear to have been allocated by many of the major European private banking houses for 2005 onwards to upgrade their systems, according to research by IDC.
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Is the market on the other side always ‘greener’?
01 September, 2004
A look across neighbouring borders reveals what’s hot, what’s not and who’s making hay in the world of selling funds. Bella Caridade-Ferreira of FERI FMI reports on the changing marketplaces in Europe and America
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Parker: Private Banking affiliate a useful sounding board for future products |
Parker draws up three-point plan for CSAM
01 September, 2004
Yuri Bender studies the recent changes at Credit Suisse and finds a company committed to open architecture, as CSAM’s vice chairman explains
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Gruebel: man at the top in Zurich |
Benefits of group restructuring
01 September, 2004
The idea of embedding CSAM within CSFB, together with investment banking, means Bob Parker’s efforts can have a direct impact on group earnings and share price. The medium term objective over three to four years is for CSAM to contribute 10 per cent of group profits. CSAM currently manages $335bn (E270bn) of the $970bn group total, but over three years, Mr Parker hopes to hit $500bn. In order to achieve this profitably, he believes, CSAM must be expanded globally, through integrated platforms, rather than the old system of managers running their own fiefdoms.
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‘We want to be the key partner only of a limited number of players for whom we can provide the key service with the best product mix’ Massimo Tosato, Schroders |
Process of change suits schroders
01 September, 2004
Whether seeing to the pruning of the less-than-effective distributors, or staring down the competition, Massimo Tosato knows what’s best for business. He speaks to Yuri Bender
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Beating out a back-office solution
01 September, 2004
Investment fund distribution technologies are not working as efficiently as planned – partly because distributors need to be more involved with setting up these systems in the first place. Paula Garrido and Yuri Bender report on the latest transfer agency developments
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‘Cash invested in a money market fund should never be under-employed... The usage of funds therefore simplifies both accessibility to and
liquidity of surplus cash’ Alex Fletcher, Goldman Sachs Asset Management |
Suddenly, cash is a priority
01 September, 2004
European distributors know the benefits of enhanced cash products. Now it is the alternative investment community which is turning to money market funds
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‘Cash products are an asset class in their own right, which are suitable for particularly risk averse investors who require a return that compares favourably to deposit rates’ Andrew Dickinson, CSAM |
Excess cash need not be a problem
01 September, 2004
No longer simply a safe haven to store money, cash products have a real role to play in an investor’s portfolio, especially if that investor is risk-averse
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‘If these products have the success they know in the US, and are growing in Europe and in Asia, it’s because of their key features that allow investors to implement a variety of strategies’ Nicolas Herchenroder, Euronext |
A simple and low cost answer
01 September, 2004
Portfolio managers aiming to make the most of cash find inspiration in the special features of tracker funds
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‘Deposits are, by their very nature, a passive investment, whereas liquidity funds actively manage credit quality and duration on a daily and even intra-day basis’ James Finch, JPMorgan Fleming |
So much better than a plain old deposit
01 September, 2004
Secure and simple, liquidity funds are a useful way to take care of excess cash and a must-have product for asset managers and distributors
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‘Cautious stance reflects over-priced dollar bonds’ Chris Wyke, Schroders |
Contagion becomes a distant memory
01 September, 2004
Debt funds are benefiting as emerging markets show good economic growth. Simon Hildrey explores the asset class as it approaches maturity
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Bernard Aybran
01 September, 2004
“We are keeping our equity weight at 60 per cent of the portfolio unchanged. But, once again, we have biased our holdings towards a more defensive stance. First, we have added to our more defensive funds both in Europe and the US - typical value or stockpicking focused on dividend paying stocks. We sold our Asian and tech funds in order to increase our commodity holdings, and, in particular, a fund focused on the oil and gas sectors - this sector is valued using $20 a barrel whereas we hardly imagine it below $25.”
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Robert Burdett
01 September, 2004
“July brought more difficult conditions for investors with most markets losing ground - the UK being the safe haven in euro terms. The worst hit was Japan due to yen issues and worries over small caps and domestic growth. This month we take the opportunity to increase our exposure to Continental Europe as valuations look better in the short term against a more stable interest rate outlook for the EU.”
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David Bulteel
01 September, 2004
“Investors are driven by worry with the continued rise in the oil price. The price has continued to rise to the current level of just below $41 for Brent Crude, although we believe the price could fall quite sharply. Recent employment figures from the US indicate that the economic recovery is no longer creating jobs. This could lead to concerns that US economic growth will slow. On balance, we believe that the growth story is still in place and recommend no changes to the portfolio.”
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Michael Richter
01 September, 2004
“The market’s uncertainty vanished with the Fed’s interest rate rise of 25 basis points. We expect interest to be at 2 per cent by year-end. We made two changes to the portfolio. First, we replaced the DWS Vermoegensbildungsfonds I with the more attractive M&G; Global Leaders fund. Second, we switched half of the Amex Global High Yield Euro fund into the Amex Global Emerging Markets Liquidity fund.”
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Pierre Bonart
01 September, 2004
“Interest rates are likely to rise over a six to 12 month horizon. Therefore, the drop of US and euro 10-year government bonds yields over the past month should be deemed as an interesting opportunity to reduce further our exposure to fixed income products and introduce Reverse International Bond, a fund with a negative sensitivity to interest rates. Our scenario of the main equity indices evolving within a tight trading range over the next weeks is still intact.”
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Marjolijn Breeuwer
01 September, 2004
No major manager changes took place in the long-only section of the portfolio and also the structural asset allocation weights (30 per cent IdB MM Zeus, 42 per cent equity managers and 28 per cent fixed income managers) have remained intact. Changes were made to the portfolio of the multi-strategy absolute return fund IdB MM Zeus in the same period. The exposure to credit arbitrage was reduced rigorously and within the long/short segment we increased our exposure to the US.”
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Panel Investment
01 September, 2004
Each month in PWM, six top European asset allocators reveal how they would spend E100,000 in a fund supermarket for a fairly conservative client with a balanced strategy.
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Campiche: a lot of time on the road |
Pictet’s taking no chances
01 September, 2004
Paula Garrido examines the finely tuned hedge fund manager selection process in place at the Swiss bank
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Making sure of the right weighting
01 September, 2004
Judging from the data, equity markets are a no-go area at the moment but shrewd, quantitatively-driven asset allocation decisions still have their place
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