NEWS
Abbey Int’l
fixed term
bonds promise
up to 6.75%
Abbey International has
launched a range of limited-offer
fixed-rate bonds
paying up to 6.75% annual
equivalent rate (AER).
The Jersey and Isle of
Man-based bank said the
fixed-term products have
three-, six- and 12-month
periods and are available
to new funds only.
Deposits held for three
months will earn 6% gross
(6.14% AER), while those
held for six months will
generate 6.2% gross (6.3%
AER). The 12-month product
pays 6.75%. Interest is
paid on maturity.
www.abbeyinternational.
com
BOND FACTS
Minimum balance: £30,000
Term: Fixed 3, 6, 12 months
Interest: 6.14%, 6.3%, 6.75%
MPL wins Singapore seal
of approval for TLP offering
BY DANIEL JUDGE
Traded life policy (TLP)
investment house Managing
Partners Limited (MPL)
has opened an office in
Singapore and registered
its fund with the regulator.
The firm said a Singapore
presence would enable it
to better access the “massive
potential” among high
net worth and institutional
investors in Asia.
MPL said the institutional
dollar share class of its
Cayman Islands-domiciled
SLI and SPILA to be merged under new brand: 360°
The merged Scottish Life
International (SLI) and
Scottish Provident International
Life Assurance
(SPILA) business is to be
named Royal London 360°.
It said the name represented
the “holistic”
approach the new business
will take to its provision of
products and services. It
Leach: ‘ideal location’
added that the name of
parent company Royal
London was being introduced
to the brand to
reflect the “heritage and
strength” brought by the
group.
David Kneeshaw, chief
executive of Royal London
360°, said: “It is important
to mark a new beginning
TLP fund growth
Share class Start date 1 mth 3 mth 6 mth 9 mth 12 mth
$ Inst 30 Jun ’04 0.72% 2.42% 4.67% 6.84% 9.01%
� Inst 31 Jul ’05 0.8% 2.63% 5.12% 7.42% 9.49%
£ Inst 31 Jul ’05 0.82% 2.7% 5.24% 7.64% 10.02%
£ Growth 15 Mar ’07 0.81% 2.6% 5.11% 7.53% 9.78%
� Growth 15 Apr ’08 0.79% 2.54% N/A N/A N/A
$ Growth 15 Apr ’08 0.71% 2.32% N/A N/A N/A
Source: MPL
Traded Policy Fund, which
has been approved for sale
by the Monetary Authority
of Singapore, had returned
just over 9% in the year
to 1 Sept, 2008 – a period
in which funds investing
in more mainstream asset
classes had lost money.
MPL, in common with
other providers of TLP
products, has seen strong
inflows into its funds this
year as investors seek
diversification into assets
uncorrelated to traditional
asset classes. It had raised
for the combined international
business which
demonstrates our ongoing
commitment to the markets
we operate in; the
attitude of the people we
employ; and our entrepreneurial
approach to doing
business. It is not that
we actually operate in all
international markets, more
£38m for the fund by
early September.
Jeremy Leach, managing
director at MPL, said: “We
chose Singapore because
it is a sophisticated financial
centre at the heart of
Asia and an ideal location
to expand the marketing
of our products in
the Far East.”
Simon Cooper, who has
spent the past three years
in sales for London-based
boutique fund manager
Welbeck, is to head the
new office.
that we are capable of
doing so.”
Royal London Group
bought SPILA in June. The
purchase was part of a
side deal in the acquisition
of the Resolution Group,
SPILA’s then parent company,
by Pearl, a specialist
in closed-book life insurance
funds.
Fund managers
restrained by
Ucits rules,
says survey
More than half of fund managers
are being restricted
in their ability to generate
returns due to Ucits regulations,
a report has found.
Professional investors
said limitations placed on
shorting, leveraging and
use of derivatives was hindering
performance in a
report based on a Create-
Research survey to which
110 fund management
companies domiciled in 23
countries contributed.
The study, sponsored
by RBC Dexia Investment
Services, was released
ahead of an expected clarification
by the Committee
of European Securities
Regulators (CESR) on how
Ucits-compliant funds
should properly handle the
shorting of stocks.
It also preceded a 1 Nov
deadline set by CESR for
comment on a proposal to
allow so-called ‘management
company passports’,
which would allow a fund
manager to trade in more
than one EU country while
supervised primarily by
only a single regulator.
While 60% of respondents
felt restrained by the
regulations, 33% noted a
growth in the use of certificates,
a form of structured
products used by investment
banks seeking to
compete with Ucits III.
To view a Ceros magazine you need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser and have the flash player 8 or higher installed. To install the latest flash player, click the icon above, install the flash plugin and then click here to refresh this page.