Fund news & alerts

AXA IM Talents research update
13 May, 2008
We met with the manager, Charles Firmin-Didot, as performance has disappointed since the fund launched last February. The manager’s philosophy is to invest in companies owned and managed by entrepreneurs. Ideally they will have a large

Martin Currie Global Alpha - manager change
13 May, 2008
Alison Hamilton has left Martin Currie to focus on motherhood. The management of the Global and Global Alpha Funds has been passed to James Fairweather who will be assisted by David Sheasby. James Fairweather is Martin Currie’s Chief I

New Star announces fund mergers
12 May, 2008
New Star has announced two fund mergers: New Star Japan will merge into New Star Pacific Growth New Star North American will merge into New Star American Portfolio These proposed mergers represent a significant chang

Old Mutual UK Select Smaller Companies - research update
09 May, 2008
Smaller companies have had a tough time over the last year not helped by the economic slowdown. During periods of economic weakness many smaller companies suffer as their fortunes are closely linked to the UK economy. This is why stock picking bec

JO Hambro UK Equity Income - research update
09 May, 2008
We recently met with Clive Beagles, the manager of the JO Hambro UK Equity Income Fund, who has just returned from a sabbatical. After taking time out for health reasons, Mr Beagles is now fully reinvigorated and eager to step back into day-to-day

Jupiter announce launch of Strategic Bond Fund
08 May, 2008
Jupiter has announced plans to launch a Strategic Bond at the start of June. It will be managed by Ariel Bezalel, who has been with Jupiter since 1997. The fund will have a flexible mandate and the manager will be able to invest in both high

JPM Sterling Liquidity - research update
07 May, 2008
JPMorgan are one of the world’s largest investment banks and the largest manager of liquidity funds. This gives them the scale and resources to scour the market for opportunities and gain the best prices and yields. The portfolio

Investment Management Association launch new sector
01 May, 2008
The Investment Management Association (IMA) has announced the creation of a new fund sector. The sector is to be called IMA Absolute Return and will initially contain 17 funds. The purpose of this sector is to give a home to a relatively new

Newton Global Opportunities - removal from Wealth 150
01 May, 2008
The Newton Global Opportunities Fund will soft-close on Tuesday May 6th. This means that we will no longer be able to offer any savings on the fund and new purchases will be subject to a 4% initial charge. We continue to believe that

Investors flock to corporate bonds
30 Apr, 2008
Recent data from the Investment Management Association shows that the UK Corporate Bond sector is currently the most popular with investors. Funds in the sector saw net sales (purchases minus redemptions) of £347 million during March.