News

M&G became the UK's largest asset manager by AUM in the first quarter of the year, knocking rival Invesco Perpetual off the top spot, according to the latest Pridham report, published by Fundscape.

The gold spot price fell to a four-month low of $1,596 on Tuesday after the dollar strengthened significantly against the euro and other leading currencies.

F&C Asset Management(F&C) reported positive inflows of £13m into its retail range in the first three months of the year, after the group saw outflows of £122m in Q4, 2011.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said discretionary portfolio management should not be exempt from VAT.

Patrick Sumner, head of property equities at Henderson Global Investors, has warned investors the market is pricing in a substantial fall in property values across Europe.

Fund managers were already warning against buying into cyclical stocks including miners and financials ahead of this week's sell-off, urging investors to hold off until there is a clearer entry point.

European companies trading on high price/earnings ratios amid a cheap market can still deliver strong returns for investors in the coming years, according to Mark Page, co-manager of the Artemis European Opportunities fund.

The new Jupiter Strategic Reserve fund has a 40% exposure to sovereign debt even though manager Miles Geldard is negative on the asset class.

Lindsell Train co-founder Nick Train has called the beginning of a new technology bull run following Apple's explosive start to 2012.

Baillie Gifford's James Anderson has bought into the Italian stock market for the first time in years, claiming Italy is in a better financial position than the UK.