Lipper Research Studies Reports

"Beating the Benchmark"

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 00:00:00 -0600

Research examining how successful actively managed mutual funds in Europe have been in out-performing indices over the past twenty years.

Lipper Research Studies - Ruling Out New Funds: Wrong Decision?

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0600

• The majority of institutional investors exclude from their selection radar mutual funds that have not accumulated a track record of at least three years and that have not achieved a certain level of assets under management.

• We test if the track record criteria make sense from a performance-and-risk point of view. We compare groups of newly launched funds and funds with track records of over three years. Also, we look at whether fund managers achieve better or worse results at the beginning of their fund’s lifetime.

• We find no evidence that funds with long track records enjoy better performance or incur less risk than new funds. On the contrary our empirical data suggest that newly launched funds post higher average total returns and lower risk data.

• We also find that fund managers enjoy slightly better performance during the first year of their tenures.

Bestinfond Unwrapped September 2010

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0600

Bestinfond is a Spain-domiciled equity fund investing in European equities which has enjoyed outstanding performance over the last five years.

We perform a detailed quantitative analysis encompassing performance, risk, style, expenses and holdings attribution. We find that:

Bestinfond achieved outstanding absolute returns and performance adjusted for risk.

Expense analysis showed a lower total expense ratio (TER) and relatively high portfolio turnover.

The manager was very successful at stock selection but asset allocation in terms of countries or sectors added little value or on occasion had a negative contribution.

The best active returns (outperformance) compared to the MSCI Europe Small Cap index were achieved in the Netherlands, Spain, and Portugal. On the other hand, stock picking in the U.K. was poor.

The holdings profile of the fund showed a strong decreasing allocation trend to Spain and a rising one to the equity markets of countries such as Italy, Portugal, and Switzerland. The fund lived up to its value style focus.

Performance Snapshot - Hedge Funds July 2010

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0600

In line with global equity and bond markets, hedge funds

overall delivered a solid return of 1.83% for July, according

to the Lipper Hedge Fund Composite Index. July’s gain

contributed to a partial recovery of the negative months’

readings, bringing year-to-date performance to minus

1.76%. Fixed Income Arbitrage (+3.23%) was the best

performing strategy for the month, benefiting from a

flattening yield curve in the Eurozone, yields in the shortto

medium-end segments of the U.S. yield curve edging

downward, and tightening spreads of Eurozone peripheral

debt versus German Bunds. Other Hedge (+3.19%) was

the runner-up, benefiting from real asset trading and

volatility-based position measuring strategies. Dedicated

Short-Bias (-0.75%) was the worst performing strategy for

the month.

Dutch Market Overview - June 2010

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0600

Funds investing in Asia topped the monthly rankings-notably those investing in Thailand and India, gaining 7.36% and 4.29% on average, respectively. Funds investing in Switzerland were also among the best performers during June: Equity Swiss Small- &Mid- Cap gained 6.54% and Equity Switzerland increased 4.77%.

French Market Overview - June 2010 (in French)

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0600

Les fonds investis en Asie se sont montrés particulièrement performants d'après notre classement Lipper mensuel, notamment ceux investis en Thaïlande et en Inde, qui ont enregistré des gains de 7.36% et 4.37% respectivement. Il est à noter que les fonds investis en Suisse se sont distingués également durant le mois de Juin; les catégories Lipper Actions Suisse et Actions Suisses - PMC se sont accrues de 4.58% et 6.28% respectivement.

Italian Market Overview - June 2010

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0600

Funds investing in Asia topped the monthly rankings–notably those investing in Thailand and India, gaining 7.01% and 4.41% on average, respectively. Funds investing in Switzerland were also among the best performers during June: Equity Swiss Small- & Mid-Cap gained 6.16% and Equity Switzerland increased 4.19%.

Hedge Funds Outlook - June 2010

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0600

WITH GLOBAL STOCK MARKETS ENDING THE FIRST

SIX MONTHS OF THE YEAR ON A SHAKY FOOTING,

THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR POSES A

NUMBER OF PROFITABLE OPPORTUNITIES FOR

HEDGE FUND MANAGERS

Italian Market Overview - May 2010

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0600

* Among the Lipper equity categories funds investing in gold and precious metals, gaining 4.94%, topped the monthly rankings, thanks to their price movements. They were followed by funds investing in Asia–notably those investing in China and India, recording 1.64% and 0.01% on average, respectively.

* Among the significant losers during the month equity funds investing in Spain lost 10.12% and equity funds focusing on Eurozone small- & mid-cap companies fell 7.52% on average during the month.

LIPPER QUARTERLY OVERVIEW - ISLAMIC FINANCE

Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 -0600

Islamic funds invested in the GCC improved significantly their position in the rankings, performing at the same pace as those invested in Asian emerging markets, thanks to the positive returns witnessed in the seven GCC stock markets during first quarter 2010.

In terms of number of funds Southeast Asia dominated the market with a 45% market share, but in terms of assets under management the Gulf led the ranking with 59% market share.

Among significant losers, equity funds and money market funds investing in Europe lost 0.13% and 5.59%, respectively for Q1 2010, in part because of the depreciation of the Euro against the U.S. dollar (-5.69%).

Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2010: Assessing the Impact of Taxes on Shareholders' Returns

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0600

What a difference a year can make! Taxable investors experienced the best of both worlds in 2009: double-digit returns along with minimal tax implications. As a direct result of the horrid returns witnessed in 2008 and the accumulation of tax-loss carryforwards, long- and short-term capital gains distributed to fund investors in 2009 declined significantly from those in 2008, while income distributions rose. However, coupling the magnitude and precipitous nature of the 2008 decline with the rapid and near-historic gain in 2009, we doubt whether the tax holiday will stick around as long as it did after the 2000-2002 meltdown. With the high likelihood of significant changes in the tax code by the end of 2010 and with the possible exhaustion of tax-loss carryforwards, taxable investors and their advocates would do well to become more cognizant of the impact taxes have on fund returns. In Lipper's Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2010, we examine the history, trends, and current legislation regarding taxation of mutual funds, along with tools institutions, intermediaries, and investors can use to better manage their taxable mutual fund accounts.

Islamic Finance Overview

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0700

In line with conventional funds Islamic funds recorded strong positive performance in emerging markets.

In terms of number of funds Southeast Asia dominated the market with a 46% market share, but in terms of assets under management the Gulf led the ranking with 60% market share.

Fee Fi Fo Fum

Mon, 07 Dec 2009 00:00:00 -0700

Research into some key issues relating to fees and expenses for European funds. Contents include an analysis of how much companies vary their fees across a fund range; discussion of whether fees will fall in light of Ucits IV and other factors; the rising prominence of performance fees; some thoughts on retail investors' understanding of fund costs.

Fund Expenses: A Transatlantic Study

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0600

This report presents authoritative data on mutual funds’ fees and expenses in the US and several key European markets. It provides a useful first look at the European fund expenses landscape for US companies considering establishing funds in Europe, as well as insights into some practices relating to US fees for European companies. (Executive Summary only - Please contact us to purchase the full version of the report)

Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2009: Assessing the Impact of Taxes on Shareholders' Returns

Wed, 15 Apr 2009 00:00:00 -0600

In 2008 massive declines in the overall market helped mitigate some of the losses from tax drag that investors might have witnessed, but many investors still experienced a significant double-whammy. Taxable mutual fund investors lost an estimated $15.8 billion in taxes to Uncle Sam during one of the worst market declines since the Great Depression. While that amount was significantly lower than the record amount surrendered in 2007, any tax drag incurred by buy-and-hold investors, especially during periods of large market losses, is counterproductive to the concept of wealth creation (preservation) and savings. While in this paper we frequently allude to the possibility of a tax holiday for equity fund investors over the next few years, we stand pat in our call to keep an eye on tax drag. Because the nearly unprecedented decline in the market in 2008 happened so quickly and so broadly and because many funds need to stay nearly fully invested, loss realization--and the creation of tax loss-carryforwards--may not be as widespread as we are anticipating.

- In 2008 the estimated taxes paid by taxable mutual fund investors declined 53% from the record amount surrendered in 2007 to $15.8 billion, a sum hovering around the ten-year average.
- On average over the last ten years taxable mutual fund investors gave up on an annual basis 1.13 percentage points (equity funds) to 2.13 percentage points (fixed income funds) in return because of taxes.
- Taxable equity and fixed income mutual fund shareholders surrendered over 78% and approximately 58%, respectively, of their load-adjusted ten-year returns because of taxes.
- Taxable fixed income funds saw 182% and 296% increases in short- and long-term capital gains distributions, while income dividend distributions declined 2% from the previous year.
- For the one- three-, five-, and ten-year periods ended December 31, 2008, taxable fixed income funds outperformed their tax-exempt cousins o

Gilt worries set to resurface as volatility between bond and equity returns: New Research

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 00:00:00 -0600

New evidence of a five year cycle in investor sentiment suggests that recent concerns about Gilt demand will resurface alongside volatility between equity and bond funds. This will continue for some time, with investment bubbles and extreme events along the way.

Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry: Assessing the Impact of Taxes on Shareholders' Returns

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 15 Apr 2008 00:00:00 -0600

Taxes took a large bite out of taxable mutual fund investors' returns in 2007. Now that the reminiscences of the 2000 to 2002 market decline have worked their way out of mutual funds' financial statements and tax-loss carryforwards have dried up, it's time to pack up the umbrella and put those fins and goggles away because the tax holiday of the first part of the new century is over. The mutual fund industry distributed its largest amount of distributions on record in 2007, and with that buy-and-hold taxable mutual fund investors surrendered a record-setting amount of their hard-won profits to Uncle Sam's coffers. With the likelihood that recent tax-law breaks will sunset in 2010 and substandard returns have already descended upon us, it would be prudent for taxable mutual fund investors to keep an eye on one of the main drags of their performance: taxes. Until our Congressional leaders step up and put mutual fund investors on the same level playing field with investors in other investment vehicles, taxable mutual fund investors and their advocates will need to advocate for themselves. In Lipper's "Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2008," we provide the tools, background, and benchmarks taxable investors and their advocates can use to better understand the impact Uncle Sam has on shareholder returns and ways to apply those concepts to wring out extra returns from taxable mutual fund portfolios.

- Mutual fund distributions hit a record high in 2007! Regulated investment companies distributed $581.6 billion, breaking the record set in 2006.
- In 2007 the estimated taxes paid by taxable mutual fund investors increased 42% from those of 2006, and buy-and-hold taxable mutual fund investors surrendered a record-setting $33.8 billion in taxes to Uncle Sam, easily surpassing 2000's record amount of $31.3 billion!
- For the five-year return period reviewed, before-tax returns were a good indicator of pre-liquidation after-tax returns in the fixed inc

Automating the Securities Selection Process

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 00:00:00 -0600

The authors created a series of automated heuristics to aid in the "lights-out" selection of securities for portfolio formation. The heuristics were composed of various measures on each security such as expense, size and volume as well as momentum models built from the universe of securities. A 24-quarter examination period, covering the time from last quarter 2000 to first quarter 2007, was used. For each of these quarters, portfolios were created from the same universe, initially by a research analyst and then from a variety of heuristic models. The actual performance of each portfolio was computed at the end of each quarter, and comparisons were made among the heuristic models as well as between the heuristic models and the analyst models. After adjusting the performance for risk, the "best" heuristic model (formed as a function of volume and momentum modeling) outperformed the analyst model for the later two-thirds to three-quarters of the evaluation time frame, yielding a compounded difference in return that ranged from just under 40% to just under 330%. A hypothesis explaining this result, related to increases in the cardinality of the universe, was offered but not tested. A cautionary comment with respect to the aptness of the analyst-heuristic comparison was offered.

Using PCDs to Rank Target Date Funds

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 00:00:00 -0700

Comparing a set of funds’ compounded returns over a given period allows us to construct a strict ranking of the funds involved; however, there is no guarantee that rankings from different periods will be the same. In fact, it is likely the rankings will differ significantly. We can, however, use a series of rankings to determine the frequency with which fund a outperforms fund b. Using these frequencies we can construct a weighted directed graph and its associated adjacency matrix and use them to determine an ordering on our set of funds.

Lipper Reuters Asset Allocation Poll German Portfolio Managers Increase their Exposure in Equities again in May

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0600

The May Asset Allocation Poll showed the second increase in a row in the average equities component with reference to a global balanced portfolio.
The average percentage invested in the bonds component of a global balanced portfolio decreased further in May.
The cash component in global balanced portfolios decreased again on average in May.

Lipper Reuters Asset Allocation Poll Deutschland April 2007 Im April wurde die Aktiequote in den globalen gemischten Portfolios wieder erhöht

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 03 May 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Die April Asset Allocation Umfrage zeigt einen leichten Anstieg der Aktienquote in den globalen gemischten Portfolios.
Der Rentenanteil der gemischten globalen Portfolios wurde im Berichtsmonat gesenkt.
Die durchschnittliche Kassenhaltung in den globalen gemischten Portfolios sank im selben Betrachtungszeitraum aufgrund des leicht gestiegenen Investitionsgrades.

Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2007: Assessing the Impact of Taxes on Shareholders' Returns

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:00:00 -0600

Taxable mutual fund investors surrendered at least $23.8 billion to Uncle Sam in 2006 for doing nothing more than buying and holding their funds! Over the last ten years taxable mutual fund investors have lost each year on average 17% to 44% of their load-adjusted returns to taxes. In Lipper's "Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2007," we provide the tools, background, and benchmarks taxable investors and their advocates can use to better understand the impact Uncle Sam has on shareholder returns and ways to apply those concepts to wring out extra returns from taxable mutual fund portfolios.
- Mutual fund distributions hit a record high in 2006! Regulated investment companies distributed $418.5 billion, breaking the record set in 2000.
- Lipper estimates that taxable mutual fund investors surrendered over $23.8 billion to the taxman in 2006--an increase of 56% from 2005 but still behind the estimated amount paid in 2000 (the drop in tax rates has really helped).
- Short- and long-term distributions from equity funds jumped 79% and 86%, respectively, from their levels in 2005. Taxable equity fund shareholders surrendered at least $14.408 billion to the taxman because of short- and long-term capital gains.
- Tax burden continued its rampage on taxable fixed income funds. The drag on performance that was due to taxes was approximately two to three times that of the expense ratio.
- Good news: Over the last few years the impact of tax drag on equity funds has lessened. Ten-year tax drag on equity fund performance has declined from being, on average, two times the expense ratio to being about 92% of the expense ratio in 2006, but the tide has turned--the one-year tax burden jumped to 130 basis points!
- Comparing tax-managed funds against their nontax-managed counterparts in four Lipper equity classifications, we found tax-managed funds kept more of their pre-tax wealth and provided, in many cases, above-classification average before- and

GERMAN PORTFOLIO MANAGERS DECREASE EXPOSURE TO EQUITIES IN MARCH

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Fri, 02 Mar 2007 00:00:00 -0700

The March Asset Allocation Poll showed a decrease in the average equities component with reference to a global balanced portfolio.
The average percentage invested in the bonds component of a global balanced portfolio increased in March.
The cash component increased again on average in global balanced portfolios in March.

Lipper Announces Research Appointments - SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 00:00:00 -0700

LIPPER ANNOUNCES RESEARCH APPOINTMENTS TO STRENGTHEN CAPABILITY IN MUTUAL FUND, HEDGE FUND AND MULTI-ASSET PUBLISHED AND CUSTOMER-TAILORED RESEARCH.

China QFII A Share Funds Research (Chinese version)

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:00:00 -0600

China QFII A Share Funds Research (Chinese version)
Including the last 2 years data of the China QFII A Share Funds. This is the first publication of its kind in the Mainland China market.

European Exchange-Traded Funds Unwrapped: An Investigation

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 31 May 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) tracking a European domestic index and traded over a domestic exchange tend to display short periods of inefficiency (daily performance deviations relative to an underlying benchmark).

ETFs tracking an international index and traded over a European exchange must account for differences in time zones, trading days, currencies, and adverse-selection costs.

The creation mechanism designed to keep ETF and index performance aligned may not offer the advertised protection to investors over the short term.

Underlying index volatility as reflected in ETF volatility may contribute to the inefficiencies inherent in the ETF product structure and therefore can be anticipated by regressing current ETF volatility levels over one-day lagged volatility and current on-exchange trading volume.

Because the risk of proliferation of same-type ETFs of added nameplates could spread investor demand across similar products-leading to distortions in the index-tracking feature-a process of concentrating ETFs trading across various exchanges in Europe is desirable.

Portfolio Selection Applying Secondary Stochastic Dominance: a Review

Mon, 01 May 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Abstract

Mathematical- or statistical-based rationales for selecting portfolios from a large number of assets, including groups of assets such as mutual funds, have been sought since the development of modern portfolio theory. One important approach relies upon leveraging the stochastic nature of or probability-driven uncertainty in the behavior of the portfolio.

Within the realm of stochastic perspectives, the concept of stochastic dominance (SD) has been popular and has been revisited on a periodic basis under a number of guises, often as part of the constraint set within a mathematical programming model. In this paper the author reviews the background and meaning of the SD concept and in doing so identifies the assumptions behind as well as motivations for various forms of SD. In the examination the author reviews a number of selected papers and provides an initial bibliography on the subject.

This paper is the first in a series of papers planned over the next year in which the author will propose some extensions to existing work as well as new approaches to the use of stochastic dominance in portfolio selection.

Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2006: Assessing the Impact of Taxes on Shareholders' Returns

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 18 Apr 2006 00:00:00 -0600

Lipper's "Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2006" provides the tools, background, and benchmarks taxable investors and their advocates need to better understand the impact taxes have on shareholder returns and how to apply these concepts to wring out extra returns from their taxable mutual fund portfolios.
- In 2005 estimated taxes paid by taxable mutual fund investors leapt 58% from those of 2004. Taxable mutual fund shareholders surrendered at least $15.2 billion to Uncle Sam because of taxes.
- Mutual fund capital gains distributions are on the rise! Total short- and long-term capital gains increased 57% and 152%, respectively, in 2005.
- In total, taxable investors lost approximately $1.7 billion because of short-term capital gains, $6.3 billion because of long-term capital gains (for doing nothing more than buying and holding their funds), and $7.2 billion because of income dividends.
- Since 2002 equity mutual fund investors have witnessed a 138% increase of income distributions; however, their tax bill increased only 30% (the lower QDI tax rate really helped). But how much longer will QDI be around?
- Tax burden is still the single largest drag on taxable fixed income funds. Taxes' drag on performance was two to three times that of the expense ratio.
- Over the last ten years taxable mutual fund investors have given up on an annual basis 1.6 percentage points (equity funds) to 2.4 percentage points (fixed income funds) of return because of taxes.

Drivers of Flows Into Retail Bond Funds (Extended Executive Summary)

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0700

The following document is an abstract from a much longer research document and is meant to give readers an overview of the for pay research document prior to purchase.

In this paper the author proposes a model to explain the magnitude of the flows of cash into and out of mutual funds that focus on fixed income (FI) instruments, e.g. bonds. While much research has been conducted on flows into (and out of) equity (EQ) funds, far less work has been done on flows of fixed income funds.

The author uses a five-year dataset of fund flows as well as approximately 61 other covariates, covering the period from the beginning of the 2000 bear market through the recovery in 2003-2004. A panel regression technique is used to perform a cross-section time-series analysis of the data, which are examined at multiple levels of aggregation.

Among the conclusions, the author finds: (1) both long-term and short-term memory effects dominate, (2) investors chase raw rather than risk-adjusted returns, (3) size and brand affinity attributes are important, and (4) the manner in which fund expenses are organized can make a difference in attracting flows.

Since brand attributes were so dominant and risk-adjusted predictors were missing, an open question is whether investors following industry-advertised risk measures are responding to performance or brand.

Drivers of Flows Into Retail Bond Funds

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Mon, 06 Mar 2006 00:00:00 -0700

In this paper the author proposes a model to explain the magnitude of the flows of cash into and out of mutual funds that focus on fixed income (FI) instruments, e.g. bonds. While much research has been conducted on flows into (and out of) equity (EQ) funds, far less work has been done on flows of fixed income funds.

The author uses a five-year dataset of fund flows as well as approximately 61 other covariates, covering the period from the beginning of the 2000 bear market through the recovery in 2003-2004. A panel regression technique is used to perform a cross-section time-series analysis of the data, which are examined at multiple levels of aggregation.

Among the conclusions, the author finds: (1) both long-term and short-term memory effects dominate, (2) investors chase raw rather than risk-adjusted returns, (3) size and brand affinity attributes are important, and (4) the manner in which fund expenses are organized can make a difference in attracting flows.

Since brand attributes were so dominant and risk-adjusted predictors were missing, an open question is whether investors following industry-advertised risk measures are responding to performance or brand.

Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2005: Assessing the Impact of Taxes on Shareholders' Returns (Sponsored by Eaton Vance Managed Investments)

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Mon, 02 May 2005 00:00:00 -0600

Over the last ten years taxable mutual fund investors have lost each year, on average, 20% to 38% of their load-adjusted returns to taxes. In Lipper's "Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry-2005"-sponsored this year by Eaton Vance-we provide tools, background, and benchmarks taxable investors and their advocates can use to better understand the impact Uncle Sam has on shareholder returns and discuss how to apply these concepts to wring out extra returns from taxable mutual fund portfolios.

• Mutual fund capital gains distributions are once again on the rise! Coming off multi-year lows, short-and long-term capital gains increased 126% and 404%, respectively, in 2004.
• Lipper estimates that taxable mutual fund investors surrendered over $9.6 billion to the taxman in 2004-an increase of 48% from 2003.
• Tax burden continued its rampage on taxable fixed income funds. Taxes drag on performance was two to three times that of the expense ratio.
• Good news! Over the last few years the impact of tax drag on equity funds has narrowed. Tax drag on equity fund performance has declined from being, on average, two times the expense ratio to being about 60% of the expense ratio in 2004.
• Comparing tax-managed funds to their nontax-managed counterparts in four of Lipper equity classifications, we found tax-managed funds kept more of their pre-tax wealth and provided, in many cases, above-classification-average before- and after-tax returns.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: A Review of the Pooled Investment Management Industry

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004. This extensive report (410 pages long) reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for key markets around the world. Lipper’s team of analysts in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States provides reviews and analyses of their specific countries’ fund industries and markets.

The insightful and topical report highlights trends in the mutual fund industry throughout the world. Here are a few examples:
· Despite equity funds finishing the year in positive territory on a global basis, equity flows in some countries actually declined.
· ETFs have started to change the landscape of the pooled investment industry, and Lipper analysts see new opportunities and threats.
· In most countries small-cap funds dominated their large-cap cousins, while value-oriented funds generally beat growth-oriented funds.
· Companies’ neat balance sheets, steady margins, and respectable dividends were the rule of the day as investors continued to seek yield as a primary component of total return.

In addition to the main report, this year we are releasing a special executive summary edition and 14 single-country reports, which are extracts from Lipper's main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004 report.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: United States Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 22 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: United States Single-Country Edition. The United States Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the United States market. The United States Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: France Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Mon, 21 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: France Single-Country Edition. The France Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the French market. The France Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Germany Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Sun, 20 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Germany Single-Country Edition. The Germany Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the German market. The Germany Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Italy Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Sat, 19 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Italy Single-Country Edition. The Italy Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Italian market. The Italy Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Spain Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Fri, 18 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Spain Single-Country Edition. The Spain Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Spanish market. The Spain Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Switzerland Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 17 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Switzerland Single-Country Edition. The Switzerland Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Swiss market. The Switzerland Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: United Kingdom Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 16 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: United Kingdom Single-Country Edition. The United Kingdom Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the United Kingdom market. The United Kingdom Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: China Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 15 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: China Single-Country Edition. The China Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Chinese market. The China Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Hong Kong Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Mon, 14 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Hong Kong Single-Country Edition. The Hong Kong Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Hong Kong market. The Hong Kong Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Japan Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Sun, 13 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Japan Single-Country Edition. The Japan Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Japanese market. The Japan Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Malaysia Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Sat, 12 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industryâ€”2004: Malaysia Single-Country Edition. The Malaysia Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Malaysian market. The Malaysia Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper's main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industryâ€”2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Singapore Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Fri, 11 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industryâ€”2004: Singapore Single-Country Edition. The Singapore Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Singaporean market. The Singapore Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipperâ€™s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industryâ€”2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Taiwan Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 10 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Taiwan Single-Country Edition. The Taiwan Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Taiwanese market. The Taiwan Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Thailand Single-Country Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 09 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industryâ€”2004: Thailand Single-Country Edition. The Thailand Single-Country Edition reviews mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for the Thailand market. The Thailand Single-Country Edition is an extract from Lipperâ€™s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industryâ€”2004 report, which reviews 14 countries and three global regions and is also available on this site.

Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004: Special Executive Summary Edition

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Tue, 08 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is proud to announce the release of Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004: Special Executive Summary Edition. The Special Executive Summary Edition provides a high-level overview of mutual fund and pooled investment performance, expense trends, product innovations, and government regulations for key markets around the world. The Special Executive Summary Edition extracts the executive summary from each of the country reports found in Lipper’s main Global Themes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004 report. Lipper’s team of analysts in China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, the United Kingdom, and the United States provide reviews and analyses of their specific countries’ fund industries and markets. The main report and single-country editions can also be found on this site.

How Well Do Expenses And Net Returns Predict Future Performance?

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Mon, 03 May 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Least Expensive Funds Aren’t Always the Best Bet.

In a new Lipper study we answer some questions commonly asked by financial planners and advisors:
· How good are low expenses as a performance predictor going forward? In other words, how confident can I be of at least beating the benchmark if I buy low-expense funds?
· Similarly, how good are current returns as a performance predictor going forward, and how do the two methods (choosing funds based on expenses and choosing funds based on returns) compare?

We find that:
· Low expenses are good predictors of future performance for no-load and institutional funds.
· However, for load funds, higher expense levels tend to be better predictors of future performance, signally that for load funds, larger management fees do not necessarily imply poorer performance.
· We also find that performance tends not to persist for equity funds but may persist for bond funds.
· And there is no difference between using the best expense quintile or the best return quintile when in comes to improving your odds of predicting future performance.

Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry--2004

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Thu, 15 Apr 2004 00:00:00 -0600

Lipper's “Taxes in the Mutual Fund Industry—2004” takes a comprehensive look at tax history, trends, and current legislation and provides the tools institutions, intermediaries, and investors need to better manage their taxable mutual fund accounts.

Selected Report Findings:
· Equity investors had reason to cheer in 2003. Not only did equity mutual funds post their strongest returns since 1967, they also passed through one of the lowest amounts of distributions and, thus, tax liabilities in years.
· However, taxes remained the primary drag on mutual fund returns
· In the taxable fixed income macro-classifications, tax burden was often two to three times larger than any other component of drag on performance (load and expenses).
· Over the last ten years, taxable equity and fixed income mutual fund shareholders gave up, on average, approximately 25% and 45%, respectively, of their before-tax returns to Uncle Sam.
· U.S. fund investors lined the government’s coffers with an estimated $6.5 billion in 2003!

Using Predecessor History in Pre-IPO Fund Performance

lipperclientservices@thomsonreuters.com — Wed, 18 Feb 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Lipper is pleased to announce the release of a revised Lipper methodology for Pre-Initial Public Offering (Pre-IPO) Performance on March 15, 2004. Pre-IPO Performance extends the historical performance calculation options for a newer (child) share class by linking its performance history to the history of an older (parent) fund of the same portfolio. Lipper now ranks Pre-IPO returns for the child fund versus all peers active over a chosen performance period, a feature not accounted for in our previous methodology.