Ignis to launch global technology fund

• Fund to be soft launched in the fourth quarter 2010

Ignis Asset Management can confirm it has received Dublin authorisation to launch a global technology fund in order to benefit from the attractive prospects for the sector. The fund will launch in the fourth quarter of 2010 and will aim to achieve long-term capital growth through investing in a concentrated portfolio of around 40-55 global technology stocks.
Ignis plans to build a credible track record before seeking UK and Continental European registration for the fund. Until a credible track record has been established and until the fund is registered for broader distribution, Ignis will refrain from actively promoting it to third party investors.
Managed by Geoff Paton, the Ignis International Global Technology Fund will invest in well-managed companies with above average growth prospects in the information technology sector. The fund will also have the flexibility to invest in innovative technology areas such as medical technology, biotech and alternative energy. The Ignis International Global Technology Fund will not be constrained geographically or by index weightings or by market capitalisation. This flexibility will allow the manager to select from the broadest possible pool of stocks in order to generate the best possible returns for investors.
Paton, currently a member of the Ignis Asset Management US equity team, has an established track record in the asset class having previously managed technology funds at Abbey National and Henderson Global Investors before joining Ignis in 2009 – see biography below.
Geoff Paton, manager of the Ignis International Global Technology Fund, says:
“I am delighted to be launching this fund ahead of what promises to be an exciting time for the sector. Technology stocks can be broadly classified into two camps, ‘legacy’ companies and ‘new age’ companies. This year, ‘legacy’ companies have struggled to perform despite, for the most part, significantly rising earnings estimates over the course of the last year. This has left many legacy companies such as IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Hewlett Packard and Dell at very low valuations. ‘New age’ technology stocks are those exploiting profound secular trends such as cloud computing and the mobile internet. These stocks have performed well but are now beginning to experience valuation contraction to some degree. We will be particularly focussed on this latter category of stocks, where there are a number of long term secular trends that will give rise to powerful investable themes and strong returns for investors.
“We will be working hard to establish a credible track record over the next six to twelve months and look forward to making the fund more broadly available to third party investors in due course.”