Hedge fund legislation as it presently stands would deny Spanish investors access to some of the world’s largest funds located outside of the OECD

Yuri Bender reports on which of the bank’s partners are benefiting most

Scorpio Partnership puts 47 per cent rise in pre-tax profits of top global wealth management institutions down to new client growth. Paula Garrido reports

Segmentation and profitability are supposed to be healthy bedfellows. However, in wealth management the ideal segmentation continues to frustrate many institutions. This is partly because ensuring profitability requires segmentation across more than one variable. In our view, the most simplistic segmentation that works involves three variables – asset levels, client geography, and sources of client wealth. Typically, however, many firms continue to promote segmentation purely on asset levels. This is fine, for a start.

After a year he’d rather not remember, Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, Invesco’s chief executive for Continental Europe, finally has something to be cheerful about: the revamped Invesco GT Pan-European fund. He talks to Henry Smith

Not content with acquisitions in the Visegrad Four countries, Pioneer Investments’ New Europe team will eventually push further east into Turkey, Russian and Ukraine. Yuri Bender reports

Yuri Bender assesses industry opinion on whether the mutual fund distribution revolution pioneered in Germany has really been worthwhile

Marianne Loner, Managing Director/Head Banks and Third-Party Wholesale/EMEA, and Tim Blackwell, CEO/Head of Germany, at UBS Global Asset Management, talk to PWM about how to establish successful partnerships with German distributors

Most mutual fund products in Germany are ordered using a paper-based system. Yuri Bender reports on the task of improving efficiency

Determining private clients’ risk tolerance in order to create an appropriate portfolio structure requires a form of analysis akin to that undertaken by psychologists

Successful fixed income investing requires placing risk analysis at the heart of portfolio management

The use of universal stock futures (futures on single stocks) as a risk management tool has been on the increase since their launch in 2001. This simple product can be used in some basic but very

effective hedging techniques. In their book, Single Stock Futures: A Trader’s Guide, from which an edited extract follows, Patrick Young and Charles Sidey explore how wealth managers can effectively implement such techniques and discuss the advantages of risk transfer and central counterparty (CCP) in the context of the new undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities (Ucits) directives.

Views differ over the appeal of bonds in a market of changing

interest rates, writes Simon Hildrey

Open architecture is viewed as a way to increase competitiveness, retain clients and attract new accounts. However, anything less than a genuine choice of products, and any indicator of it being solely for the benefit of the banks themselves, will result in a customer exodus. Paula Garrido reports

Bernard Aybran, head of manager selection, LCF Rothschild
Based in: Paris, France

“Two main changes have occurred on our balanced portfolios in October. We first have totally wiped out our reverse bonds holdings as it looks like the downtrend in the interest rate market is back; we mostly used the proceeds on adding to our high yield funds. On the equity side, we sold our remaining Japan holdings to reinvest an equivalent amount on value European stocks and US small caps. Going forward, we remain confident equity markets can enjoy a reasonable rally within the next few months.”

Robert Burdett, director for multi-manager and fund of funds, Credit Suisse Asset Management
Based in: London, UK

“In a mixed month, fund returns were widely dispersed and misleading. Post the US election, our strategy remains reasonably neutral, but mildly optimistic for equities. We have therefore taken bonds down to 49 per cent after some good recent performance. The tactical beneficiary is continental Europe and on a more long-term strategic view, we have added to the Far East and to emerging markets.”

David Bulteel, head of international portfolio management, Carr Sheppards Crosthwaite
Based in: London, UK

“With the US Presidential election over, the main barrier to progress remains the oil price. If recent high prices are sustained, a recession is unlikely in 2005. Some of this risk is already factored in so equities look better than bonds. The mix of economic growth is likely to shift, with US and UK consumers curbing spending as borrowing costs bite, allowing the balance of world growth to shift from consumer spending, towards corporate investment and the faster growing economies of Asia.”

Michael Richter, head of asset management team, Epicon Investment
Based in: Vienna, Austria

“Improving economic data, especially in the US, make us feel very comfortable with our being overweight in equities. To reflect our, at least short-term, bullish sentiment and our expectations of rising inflation, we substituted the JPMF International Bond Fund with the Dexia Inflation Linked Bond Fund, which should perform well. Further, we sold the Griffin Eastern European Fund and brought on the Magna Eastern European Fund.”

Pierre Bonart, head of multi-management, Louvre Gestion
Based in: Paris, France

“We decided to adopt a moderate overweight in equities. The end of the year could be more supportive for stocks because of the seasonality and also because the US election issue is now behind us. With some help from attractive valuations especially in Europe and Japan, equities should outperform the other asset classes. We took our profits and sold our energy and mining exposure as a change in sentiment may occur if oil prices decline and/or investors misunderstand the tightening of China’s monetary policy.”

Marjolijn Breeuwer, manager selection team, Insinger de Beaufort Based in: Amsterdam, The Netherlands

“We are continuing to further concentrate this portfolio by actively redeeming some managers and by increasing our holdings in high quality specialist managers within IdB MM Zeus. Moreover, we added Trafalgar Volatility to the market neutral portion of the portfolio. Following last month’s addition of GAM North American Growth to the long-only equity portfolio we intend to make further changes on the long-only side in the future. Our strategic asset allocation of long-only equity, fixed income and absolute return managers has remained intact.”

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.