NEWS briefs

European markets to out-pace US, says ABN Amro

European bond and equity markets are expected to decouple from and outperform US counterparts over the next two years, according to ABN Amro’s hedge fund strategist Julien Garran. However, the macro trends behind the decoupling effect could create significant headwinds for markets over the next 12 months.

US and European growth may be synchronised, but productivity growth is not, explains Mr Garran in his report, Roadmap to De-coupling. The ultimate result will be a decoupling of profit growth and European recovery.

“Germany has the will and the ability to achieve significant productivity growth, despite cost pressure and waning pricing power over the coming year,” said Mr Garran. “The jury is still out on France and Italy.”

Granville to run Investec’s Guernsey dealing room

Investec Private Bank has hired Cyril Granville, previously with rival fund distributor and wealth manager SG Hambros, to run its treasury dealing room in Guernsey. Mr Granville also picked up high-level experience at Deutsche Bank, where he managed the bank’s deposit and foreign exchange risk as well as developing corporate client base.

Quant-based model helps Bertoni gain S&P ‘A’ rating

A quant-based model used to identify undervalued corporates has helped Raffaele Bertoni, manager of Pioneer’s European Corporate Bond fund, avoid many of the “fallen angels” which subsequently suffered further downgrades, according to Standard & Poor’s. The agency has assigned an “A” rating to the fund, following a detailed evaluation of its investment process. S&P said the fund benefits from the input of Mr Bertoni and four credit analysts in Dublin, plus two Milan-based economists. The fund has delivered top-quartile performance since launch in October 2001.