Bankers Trust New York Corp. has entered the European retail mutual fund market with a series of nine funds modeled after the funds the company offers through its intermediaries in the United States.
The funds are open-ended, dollar-denominated funds, known as undertakings for collective investment in transferable securities, or Ucits.
The mutual funds, which require a minimum investment of $10,000, include a cash management fund, an international equity funds, and four different fixed income funds.
They are marketed by Bankers Trust's Global Investors unit, administered by BT Fund Managers (Ireland) Ltd., and managed by portfolio managers in New York and Sydney, Australia.
According to a Bankers Trust spokesman, the funds will be sold exclusively through third parties, an arrangement that resembles the one Bankers Trust has established with Charles Schwab & Co. and Fidelity Investment Advisor Group to sell U.S. mutual funds to financial advisers.
The timing was right, the spokesman said, for an European entry, because share ownership is becoming more popular in that area, and because this year marks the third anniversary of Bankers Trust's retail mutual funds - a track record, by industry standards.
The funds will be marketed primarily in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Switzerland.
In a separate development, Bankers Trust announced that James F. Giblin has joined its global investment management business as head of the U.S. large capitalization equities business.
Mr. Giblin, a 23-year veteran of equity management and analysis, joins Bankers Trust from Putnam Investments, where he was senior vice president and senior portfolio manager. He managed a portion of The Putnam Growth and Income Fund and was co-manager of the Putnam Health Sciences Trust.
Mr. Giblin will oversee more than $2 billion in large capitalization assets. He will pursue a core equity style with a modest growth bias, selecting sector overweightings with a close eye on risk measurement.
Prior to joining Putnam Investments in 1993, Mr. Giblin spent 14 years with Cigna Investments, most recently as head of Cigna Equity Advisors, with $4 billion in actively managed U.S. equities. Previously, he was managing director and portfolio manager responsible for Cigna's insurance accounts and mutual funds.
Mr. Giblin was portfolio manager of the Cigna Value Fund (now called AIM Value Fund) from mid-1986 through mid-1992. During his tenure, the Cigna Value Fund ranked No. 1 in the Lipper growth and income universe for the five years ending June 30, 1992, and it also earned a five-star Morningstar rating. -John Kimelman contributed to this report.
