Product Launches round-up

June 2008

A new suite of diversified fixed income funds for pension schemes and other qualified investors has been launched by Henderson. The Henderson Diversified Fixed Income funds wrap this approach in a range of pooled funds, which will be managed against different UK benchmarks: the High Alpha Fixed Income fund against three month sterling Libor, the High Alpha Credit fund against iBoxx All Stocks Sterling Non-Gilt Index, and the High Alpha Gilts fund against the FTSE Actuaries All Stocks Gilts Index.

The funds aim to provide an off the shelf, greatly diversified portfolio of fixed income assets which are benchmarked against the traditional UK indices in excess of two per cent of each respective benchmark.

PIMCO has unveiled a Euro Liquidity Fund on its Dublin-based fund platform, the Global Investor Series (GIS), a euro cash management solution. The Fund seeks to preserve capital and to provide daily liquidity, and is available to corporate, institutional and high net worth investors across Europe. It has been awarded a AAA/MR1+ rating.

GIS is a UCITS III fund complex of 33 funds, with £13.1bn of assets.

BNY Mellon Asset Management has launched the BNY Mellon Vietnam, India and China (VIC) Fund, forming part of the Dublin-domiciled BNY Mellon Global Funds, plc range. The Fund is a focused portfolio of 45-55 stocks seeking long-term capital appreciation through investment in the emerging markets of Asia.

The Melchior Selected Trust Pakistan Opportunities Fund (MSTPOF) has been launched by Dalton Strategic Partnership LLP, advised by KASB Funds in Karachi.

The Fund is a Luxembourg SICAV, and the minimum investment is $10,000 A&C Shares, and $250,000 B&D shares.

New Star has unveiled the New Star Indian Equity Fund, which will be managed by Tata Asset Management Mauritius. It is a Luxembourg-based SICAV fund, focused on around 40 companies, and themes for investment include infrastructure, domestic consumptions and knowledge intensive sectors.

Phaunos Timber Fund Limited, an investment company established to invest in timberland and timber related assets on a global basis, has announced the listing of its entire issued ordinary share capital on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority. It has also been admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange plc’s main market for listed securities. Trading in the Company’s ordinary shares on AIM has been cancelled.

Over two phases in June and July 2008, Mirae Asset Global Investments will launch nine emerging market SICAV funds focused on the Asia-Pacific region. Domiciled in Luxembourg, the funds will aim to provide long term capital appreciation by focusing on bottom-up analysis and high conviction, alpha generating stock ideas. The range will mirror Mirae Asset’s existing Korean domiciled funds, and will be managed by the same local portfolio managers.

The funds are the Asia Pacific Equity Fund, Asia Sector Leader Equity Fund, Asia Pacific Consumer Equity Fund, Asia Pacific Infrastructure Equity Fund, Asia Pacific Financial Equity Fund, China Sector Leader Equity Fund, India Sector Leader Equity Fund, Chindia Sector Leader Equity Fund and the Korea Equity Fund.

Ermitage Group has launched a fund of hedge fund (FOHF) which aims to capitalise on the growing interest and public awareness surrounding environmental issues and climate change. The Clean Resources Fund has launched with an initial $20million investment, and is a sister fund to Ermitage’s established Resources Fund.

The Fund provides investors with access to a concentrated portfolio of managers exploiting opportunities within alternative energy, including resource and energy efficiency, energy technology, clean power generation, greenhouse gas management, water and waste management. Minimum investment is €125,000, annual management fess are 1.5 per cent per annum, with a ten per cent performance fee.