Lipper

The number of new funds being launched into the European market has dropped by half from the peak in 2008 as asset managers struggle through a tough business environment.

Over the past two decades the FTSE All Share has beaten the majority of funds in the IMA UK All Companies sector, adding weight to the view the funds industry is in dire need of consolidation ahead of RDR.

Fidelity landed two awards and First State Investments gained its fourth consecutive win at the 2012 Lipper Fund Awards last night.

Retail investors are twice as likely to pay more for actively-managed funds than reduced costs for index trackers, research from Lipper has revealed.

EMERGING MARKETS

Fitch Ratings has joined up with Lipper to launch a fund rating service which combines Fitch's qualitative fund analysis with Lipper's rankings and performance data.

Raings agency Fitch has branded European Absolute Return (AR) funds "prone to performace disappointment" and "mis-selling" to unsophisticated investors.

There is a lack of appetite amongst European investors for bond funds across the continent after a net withdrawal of €4.6bn in November, according to Lipper's latest monthly snapshot.

Incisive Media today launches Adviserhound.com, the industry's first financial find engine designed specifically to cater for the day-to-day business needs of financial advisers.

M&G topped UK retail fund sales for the seventh consecutive quarter in Q2, taking in more than 20% of the industry's total net sales of £5.2bn.