US fund houses eclipsed by European players

US fund suppliers might be the best regarded, but it is the products of local providers that are flying off the shelves, writes Roxane McMeeken. While US fund managers are among the best regarded in Europe, domestic houses are actually selling more cross-border funds. US stalwarts Fidelity, JP Morgan Fleming and Franklin Templeton scooped the top three positions in the latest assessment of third party fund suppliers from Sector Analysis. The rankings were compiled in terms of how well used, well regarded and well known providers were. Latest figures on sales of individual cross-border funds, however, suggest that certain European players are in the lead in terms of moving products off their shelves. Feri Fund Market Research has revealed that the top selling cross-border fund in May this year was ACM American Income. While Alliance Capital Management is a US firm, it is 30 per cent owned by Paris-based Axa. The second best seller was the American value product of Nordea, which is listed in Stockholm, Helsinki and Copenhagen. Kim Olsen, Nordea’s head of investments in Luxembourg, said that the I North America Value fund had grown from e100m in December 2001 to a giant e2bn today. It has returned 5.51 per cent during the past three years to June 2003, according to Standard & Poor’s. This is an extremely favourable performance compared to its benchmark, the S&P500, which returned –44.14 during the same period. Feri defines a fund as cross-border if it is sold in five or more countries anywhere in the world. Mauro Baratta, researcher at the firm, said the common perception that the US is in the lead in Europe should be challenged.