Skip to main content
MENU
Subscribe
  • Subscribe
  • Account
  • LOGIN
  • Topics
    • Alternatives
    • Consultants
    • Coronavirus
    • Courts
    • Defined Contribution
    • ESG
    • ETFs
    • Hedge Funds
    • Industry Voices
    • Investing
    • Money Management
    • Opinion
    • Partner Content
    • Pension Funds
    • Private Equity
    • Real Estate
    • Russia-Ukraine War
    • SECURE Act 2.0
    • Special Reports
    • White Papers
  • Rankings & Awards
    • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
    • Top-Performing Managers
    • Largest Money Managers
    • DC Money Managers
    • DC Record Keepers
    • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
    • World's Largest Retirement Funds
    • Best Places to Work in Money Management
    • Excellence & Innovation Awards
    • WPS Innovation Awards
    • Eddy Awards
  • ETFs
    • Latest ETF News
    • Fund Screener
    • Education Center
    • Equities
    • Fixed Income
    • Commodities
    • Actively Managed
    • Alternatives
    • ESG Rated
  • ESG
    • Latest ESG News
    • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
    • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
    • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
    • Impact Investing
    • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
    • ESG Rated ETFs
  • Defined Contribution
    • Latest DC News
    • DC Money Manager Rankings
    • DC Record Keeper Rankings
    • Innovations in DC
    • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
    • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
    • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
  • Searches & Hires
    • Latest Searches & Hires News
    • Searches & Hires Database
    • RFPs
  • Performance Data
    • P&I Research Center
    • Earnings Tracker
    • Endowment Returns Tracker
    • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
    • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
    • Pension Risk Transfer Database
    • Future of Investments Research Series
    • Charts & Infographics
    • Polls
  • Careers
  • Events
    • View All Conferences
    • View All Webinars
    • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
    • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
    • 2022 WorldPensionSummit
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Print
July 22, 1996 01:00 AM

EDINBURGH EXECUTIVES EYE FURTHER EXPANSION

Margaret Price
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Reprints Print

    Edinburgh Fund Managers, having completed its acquisition of Dunedin Fund Managers, is now considering more expansion opportunities.

    "This year, we need to give everybody confidence that things are working well," said Iain Watt, the firm's chief executive in Edinburgh. "But when we look at where we should go in the next two to three years, we know we want to expand in North America (and the United Kingdom) through (business opportunities) with existing clients and looking at any business that might come our way."

    North America appears to be the primary focus of the firm. As Gloria E. Carlson, director of Edinburgh Fund Managers PLC North America in Atlanta, put it, the firm "is putting a lot of emphasis on building its North American business."

    But the U.K. market isn't being ignored; since the Dunedin acquisition closed in March - EFM launched two more products. One was a safety-first mutual fund, which puts a floor on the amount units can decline in any year, and the other was for pension funds -a less expensive version of an insurance policy whose money is invested in EFM's investment trusts.

    In North America, EFM has been watching a few "quite interesting" money management opportunities, which Mr. Watt did not identify. However, he did say EFM "would like to build a North American business similar to what we have" in the United Kingdom, including management of pension funds, mutual funds and closed-end funds.

    "We're a very profitable company and we also have plenty of cash reserves if we need it for expansion," said Mr. Watt. He said EFM has (British pounds)20 million (U.S. $12.9 million) of profits and (British pounds)26 million (U.S. $16.77 million) of cash and investments.

    Officials said the firm had been tracking Edinburgh-based Dunedin for four years before acquiring it for $128 million this year. Dunedin, which had been the larger of the two in terms of assets under management, became available after the departure of some of its key personnel triggered client losses in the U.S. market.

    In the wake of the Dunedin merger, EFM retained all of its U.K. clients, and inherited all of Dunedin's former U.K. clients. But in North America, many Dunedin clients - especially public pension funds - dropped out. From a peak of some $3 billion under management from North American clients in June 1995, only about $1.2 billion remained at the time of Dunedin's merger; after more defections, EFM only has between $600 million and $700 million of assets under management from former Dunedin pension clients in North America. (Before the merger, EFM had about $500 million under management, including mutual fund assets, from North American clients.)

    Of EFM's $12 billion of total worldwide assets under management, 53% comes from U.K. investment trusts, 24% from U.K. pension funds, 10% from U.K. mutual funds, 9% from mutual funds and separately managed accounts in North America, and 4% from private clients.

    However, EFM officials were "delighted" about the amount of Dunedin business they inherited in North America. "The bid we made for Dunedin was based on assets we'd get in the U.K.," said Mr. Watt. Keeping any in North America was viewed as a plus, because the firm had factored nothing into that equation. What's more, the Dunedin merger "has given us a critical mass in North America now," he believes. Now, "we're in a better position to compete and gain more business."

    The Dunedin purchase made EFM the third-largest investment trust manager in the United Kingdom, up from what Mr. Watt called the "lower part of the top 10." Moreover, "we're now among the U.K.'s top 20 investment managers," compared with ranking only in the top 50 beforehand, he said.

    From the merger, EFM also obtained additional "good caliber management," said Mr. Watt.

    The talend gained by EFM includes: Richard Muckart, formerly Dunedin's investment director who became investment director as well as head of emerging markets investing at EFM; David McCraw, Dunedin's U.S. investment manager who retained that function at EFM; and Colin Peters, a Dunedin director responsible for business development and administration, who continues the duties at EFM.

    But absorbing Dunedin also had a somber side: 70 to 80 people were laid off from the combined firm; EFM also closed Dunedin's offices in Edinburgh and Chicago; and EFM sold Dunedin's venture capital business, with about (British pounds)50 million under management, in a management buy-out.

    Recommended for You
    Read the print edition of P&I
    Read the print edition of P&I
    How low is low? Projections say it's not low enough
    How low is low? Projections say it's not low enough
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    FINRA honors Wharton's Olivia Mitchell with Ketchum Prize
    Private Markets
    Sponsored Content: Private Markets

    Reader Poll

    August 10, 2022
    SEE MORE POLLS >
    Sponsored
    White Papers
    Gaining Momentum: Where Next for Trend-Following?
    The market opportunity in U.S. residential mortgage-backed securities
    Credit Indices Evolve with Enhanced Data Inputs
    Hedge Funds 2.0: Back to the future
    How Has 2022's Carnage Reshaped Global Stock and Bond Markets?
    Crossroads: Politics, Inflation, & Bonds
    View More
    Sponsored Content
    Partner Content
    The Industrialization of ESG Investment
    For institutional investors, ETFs can make meeting liquidity needs easier
    Gold: the most effective commodity investment
    2021 Investment Outlook | Investing Beyond the Pandemic: A Reset for Portfolios
    Ten ways retirement plan professionals add value to plan sponsors
    Gold: an efficient hedge
    View More
    E-MAIL NEWSLETTERS

    Sign up and get the best of News delivered straight to your email inbox, free of charge. Choose your news – we will deliver.

    Subscribe Today
    August 1, 2022 page one

    Get access to the news, research and analysis of events affecting the retirement and institutional money management businesses from a worldwide network of reporters and editors.

    Subscribe
    Connect With Us
    • RSS
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • LinkedIn

    Our Mission

    To consistently deliver news, research and analysis to the executives who manage the flow of funds in the institutional investment market.

    About Us

    Main Office
    685 Third Avenue
    Tenth Floor
    New York, NY 10017-4036

    Chicago Office
    130 E. Randolph St.
    Suite 3200
    Chicago, IL 60601

    Contact Us

    Careers at Crain

    About Pensions & Investments

     

    Advertising
    • Media Kit
    • P&I Content Solutions
    • P&I Careers | Post a Job
    • Reprints & Permissions
    Resources
    • Subscribe
    • Newsletters
    • FAQ
    • P&I Research Center
    • Site map
    • Staff Directory
    Legal
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Request
    Pensions & Investments
    Copyright © 1996-2022. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • Topics
      • Alternatives
      • Consultants
      • Coronavirus
      • Courts
      • Defined Contribution
      • ESG
      • ETFs
      • Hedge Funds
      • Industry Voices
      • Investing
      • Money Management
      • Opinion
      • Partner Content
      • Pension Funds
      • Private Equity
      • Real Estate
      • Russia-Ukraine War
      • SECURE Act 2.0
      • Special Reports
      • White Papers
    • Rankings & Awards
      • 1,000 Largest Retirement Plans
      • Top-Performing Managers
      • Largest Money Managers
      • DC Money Managers
      • DC Record Keepers
      • Largest Hedge Fund Managers
      • World's Largest Retirement Funds
      • Best Places to Work in Money Management
      • Excellence & Innovation Awards
      • WPS Innovation Awards
      • Eddy Awards
    • ETFs
      • Latest ETF News
      • Fund Screener
      • Education Center
      • Equities
      • Fixed Income
      • Commodities
      • Actively Managed
      • Alternatives
      • ESG Rated
    • ESG
      • Latest ESG News
      • The Institutional Investor’s Guide to ESG Investing
      • ESG Sustainability - Gaining Momentum
      • Climate Change: The Inescapable Opportunity
      • Impact Investing
      • 2022 ESG Investing Conference
      • ESG Rated ETFs
    • Defined Contribution
      • Latest DC News
      • DC Money Manager Rankings
      • DC Record Keeper Rankings
      • Innovations in DC
      • Trends in DC: Focus on Retirement Income
      • 2022 Defined Contribution East Conference
      • 2022 DC Investment Lineup Conference
    • Searches & Hires
      • Latest Searches & Hires News
      • Searches & Hires Database
      • RFPs
    • Performance Data
      • P&I Research Center
      • Earnings Tracker
      • Endowment Returns Tracker
      • Corporate Pension Contribution Tracker
      • Pension Fund Returns Tracker
      • Pension Risk Transfer Database
      • Future of Investments Research Series
      • Charts & Infographics
      • Polls
    • Careers
    • Events
      • View All Conferences
      • View All Webinars
      • 2022 Retirement Income Conference
      • 2022 Managing Pension Risk & Liabilities
      • 2022 WorldPensionSummit