Articles • 2007-2009
Press articles published in some of the most prestigious financial publications throughout the world.
| Publication: Investment Adviser |
| Publication Date: 27/08/09 |
| The Outlook for the UK Property Market |
| The British have had a long-running love affair with property. Like many affairs it has had its ups and downs, but the gains in residential property prices in real terms since at least the end of the Second World War cannot be ignored. House prices cannot keep going up forever, of course. Yet this fact seemed to be forgotten in the run-up to the latest slump. It was somewhat astounding to see so much investment into newly-launched property funds when it seemed clear to us at Managing Partners Limited that a major correction was due. So much so we held off launching our British Property Opportunities Fund until 2008. |
 |
| Publication: International Adviser |
| Publication Date: 25/08/09 |
| How the Traded Policies Fund gives investors the steady returns they have always wanted |
| The rocky ride on financial markets over the last two years has left investors numb with shock. All they ever really wanted were steady, incremental returns but they have been left nursing major losses from equities, bonds and property. Even with-profits, hedge funds and so-called absolute return funds have let them down. So is there an alternative? The good news is there is. The growing popularity of funds that invest in traded life policies are testament to the fact that investors are increasingly turning to an exciting new asset class. |
|
| Publication: Property Forecast |
| Publication Date: 19/06/09 |
| An Opportunistic View of the UK Property Market |
| It was somewhat astounding to see so much investment into newly-launched property funds in the run-up to the current property slump. When it seemed clear to us at Managing Partners Limited that prices were clearly due a major correction, investors were being wowed by past performance. We held off soft-launching the British Property Opportunities Fund (BPOF) until February 2008 precisely because we anticipated a downturn. While we are hardly in the throes of a full recovery now, there are plenty of opportunities to earn good rental yields with the prospect of longer term capital gains if you know where to look. So where exactly in the cycle is the UK property market now? There have been some positive signs: in May the Halifax House Price Index saw a monthly rise of 2.6%. This is after a big fall in prices: the average house price was estimated to be worth £183,694 in May 2008 and in May this year this figure had reduced to £158,565. The house price to earnings ratio (a key affordability measure) also declined from its peak of 5.84 (in July 2007) to 4.36 in May 2009. The ratio is now at a level last seen in January 2003. |
|
| Publication: Financial Planner |
| Publication Date: 04/05/09 |
| A Guide to Investing in Traded Life Policies |
| This article is for Financial Planner magazine, which is circulated monthly to 5,500 senior fee-based financial planners and UK wealth managers and is the official magazine of the Institute of Financial Planning. The IFP regulates the use of the global Certified Financial Planner licence in the UK. There are nearly 110,000 holders of the CFP licence worldwide. This feature will look at investing a lump sum in traded life policies as an alternative to investing a lump sum in equities or bonds. What returns can investors expect in the way of returns and security? How does lump sum investing work, what sort of clients should Financial Planners be directing such funds at? |
|
| Publication: The Barrister |
| Publication Date: 26/02/09 |
| A Guide to Investing in Traded Life Policies |
| Investors can be forgiven for feeling a little shell-shocked after the rocky ride they have had over the last two years or so. The more money they had then the more they are likely to have lost as financial markets went south. Lawyers, tending to be among the richer echelons of society, will have been among the biggest losers unless they had a financial adviser that told them to sell their equity, bond and property investments about two or three years ago. Many investors and their advisers are understandably looking at whether there are alternatives to these traditional asset classes. Some might look at hedge funds or other ‘absolute return’ products. But even these have been disappointing. And what about the ‘with profits’ policies that promised steady, incremental returns for several decades? The failure of these products to deliver on such promises has been well documented. |
|
| Publication: Investment Adviser |
| Publication Date: 25/09/08 |
| UK Property Market |
| During times of global recession there is one asset class that remains the most invasive and emotive for the British Investor – property. The reason for this for this really is quite obvious; an enormous percentage of the British population own their own homes, which are typically the largest investment they will ever make and the fortunes of the United Kingdom property market will determine the wealth of the nation and any change to its value can have a deeply profound impact on the sentiment of each and every home owner. |
|
| Publication: Life & Pensions Moneyfact |
| Publication Date: 27/05/08 |
| The Benefits of Traded Life Policies |
| As every IFA who ever sold a with profits policy knows, the concept of steady, incremental returns was always a winner with clients. The trouble is that in recent years, with profits has failed to deliver. The three-year bear market that followed the TMT crash and the market turbulence seen over the last year, including the problems in the property market, has spurred investors to look for alternatives. And one alternative that is attracting ever more attention is traded life policies. TLPs are US-issued, whole-of-life assurance policies sold before the maturity date to allow the original owner to enjoy some of the benefits during their lifetime. The transaction by which an existing life insurance policy is sold to third parties is known as a life, or traded, settlement. The reason why financial advisers should be taking a closer look at TLPs is that they offer steady, incremental returns that are uncorrelated with any other financial market – an attribute that makes them particularly attractive amid the market turmoil we have seen over the last year. |
|
| Publication: Investment Adviser |
| Publication Date: 18/04/08 |
| UK Property Market |
| In April this year the International Monetary Fund announced that One Trillion US Dollars was going to be written off as a result of the United States sub prime mortgage market failure. The losses incurred by banks and other financial institutions as result of buying what turned out to be little more than well packaged junk bonds, have had a considerable knock on effect in the United Kingdom because of the change in market sentiment and the difficulties associated with operating a geared mortgage business, which brought about the demise of Northern Rock. As a result of this market shift, it is now quite clear that the gravy train has ground to a halt for property investors, marking the end of a prosperous decade for homeowners and developers alike. The question for most however, is how much are their assets going to shrink in value by the widely predicted market correction that is expected to occur in 2008? |
|
| Publication: FundAIM |
| Publication Date: 08/04/08 |
| The reliability of investing in TLPs |
| Transplants, open-heart surgery, wonder drugs, etc: the list of medical achievements that improve life expectancy is a long one. The general assumption, quite rightly, is that such advances are prolonging life expectancies year after year. So given we never know what new life-preserving technological or biological development is just around the corner, does this mean any investment that depends on the reliability of mortality tables will be fraught with uncertainty? This might seem a fair observation, for example, in relation to funds that invest in traded life policies (TLPs). TLPs are United States-issued whole of life assurance policies sold before the maturity date to allow the original owner to enjoy some of the benefits during their lifetime. |
|
| Publication: Maple Leaf |
| Publication Date: 08/01/08 |
| Life Settlements as an Alternative to Bonds and Equities |
| Recession, the sub-prime crisis and credit crunch – these are all causes for concern this year and deeply unsettling for the financial markets, which are set to suffer even more volatility this year. But in such conditions, life settlement and traded life policy funds have never looked more appealing to investors. This is because traded policy funds represent a safe haven for investors. Equities, bonds and property are all under pressure to perform but continued turbulence in these markets is set to continue. Now is a good time for investors to head for cover to an asset class that is not impacted by the global market turbulence. And with interest rates falling on cash deposits, traded life policies become even more attractive. |
|
| Publication: Investment Adviser |
| Publication Date: 13/11/07 |
| Dire Straights for UK Financials |
| At the beginning of August it was widely expected that by now the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee would have introduced at least one more interest rate hike to take the UK base lending rate to at least 6% per annum. It would mark a slow down in the housing market but spell a positive close to a record breaking era for the UK Banking Sector where Barclays alone were expected to announce profits of £7 billion. However, August was an extremely pivotal month as the magnitude of the North American Credit Crunch finally came home to roost and has already forced financial institutions to write off tens of billions of dollars against Credit Rated Securities. |
|
| Publication: Pensions Age |
| Publication Date: 14/09/07 |
| Traded Life Policies as a new asset class |
| The UK pensions market has a rather pleasant surprise in store. Too few people in the industry realise it yet, but a whole new asset class is gaining prominence in the United States that offers investors steady, predictable returns. This new asset class, which is prompting growing interest from retail and institutional investors around the world, is Traded Life Policies (TLPs). TLPs are US-issued, whole-of-life assurance policies sold before the maturity date to allow the original owner to enjoy some of the benefits during their lifetime. The transaction by which an existing life insurance policy is sold to third parties is known as a life, or traded, settlement. |
|
| Publication: FundAIM |
| Publication Date: 24/08/07 |
| Traded Life Policies as
an Alternative to Bonds and Equities |
| The Federal Reserve’s recent half-point cut in its discount rate prompted by market volatility was hardly a surprise, even though markets had been factoring in expectations of rate rises in the US for most of this year. But this cut, or even one by a full percentage point, won’t be enough to resolve the problems in the US sub-prime mortgage market. Equity market turbulence is set to continue for some time and the short term rally seen in bonds will be precisely that – short-term. It is only the forces of supply and demand that has been pushing bond prices up, not the intrinsic value of the assets. Equities, bonds and property are all under pressure to perform but continued turbulence in these markets is set to continue. The bull run in equities will probably continue for a while because China now permits domestic assets to be invested overseas to ease the pressure on its own overpriced market, but it is widely expected that a correction will occur. Now is a good time for investors to run for cover to an asset class that is not impacted by the global market turbulence. But is there a choice other than cash? |
|
| Publication: |
| Publication Date: 20/08/07 |
| How a US Recession will impact on European Investors |
| For almost 100 years the Greenback has been the global currency of choice. If you want to book a hotel room in Lagos or Lima, Bali of Kathmandu the rate is likely to be quoted in US dollars. If you wish to speculate in oil or frozen orange juice (on the commodity market) then the Dollar will be used to quote the traded value. If you wish to invest in an emerging market fund or an international equity fund then the chances are that the base currency will be priced in USD, too. Why is this the case and why does the US economy have such a big influence over our lives? The reason for the popularity of the Dollar in many parts of the world (in favour of local currency), dates back to times when governments started to issue promissory notes in favour of gold and silver coins. One of the main problems with gold and silver coins was that, whilst the physical value of the coin could not be argued (irrespective of which government issued the coin), the value of precious metals were particularly volatile and the value of a coin had more to do with its weight than its stated value. Another more practical challenge with coins was that they were really quite heavy to carry around. |
|
| Publication: Investment Adviser |
| Publication Date: 20/08/07 |
| Has property run its course? |
| It is no surprise that Property investment has represented a ‘rose among thorns’ for many investors because of the healthy growth we have seen in the UK Property Market over the past five years. With more investors than ever before catching on to the buy to let property bug, can the gravy train ever come to an end? Well the answer, with some certainty, is yes, but when will it happen and how bad will it be? The primary driver for the property market is investor sentiment, which quite predictably, is positive when property prices are rising and negative when property prices are falling. The physical signs of this trend are heavily delayed however because unlike liquid assets such as equities (that can be sold by the press of a button), property is an illiquid asset that cannot be sold until the right buyer is found, if the buyer is in a chain it could take some months for the transaction process to complete. |
|
| Publication: Investment Week |
| Publication Date: 05/07/07 |
| Traded Life Policies for the UK investor |
| In the last few years a whole new asset class has gained prominence in the United States, prompting growing interest from retail and institutional investors around the world. That asset class is Traded Life Policies (TLPs). TLPs are US-issued, whole-of-life assurance policies sold before the maturity date to allow the original owner to enjoy some of the benefits during their lifetime. The transaction by which an existing life insurance policy is sold to third parties is known as a life, or traded, settlement. |
|
