The Alternative Exchange

How an EIS can cast off seasonal woes

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 11 May 2012 12:22:00 +0000

Analysis and interpretation of Teak market data.

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:05:00 +0000

As part of AsiaTeak's ongoing commitment to the collation, analysis and interpretation of Teak market data, please find below some useful information, directly extracted from a recent publication by
Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) entitled Teak Resources and
Market Assessment (TRMA) published in March 2012.

The content referred to does not constitute an opinion from AsiaTeak Group and is a direct extract from the main document. The full report contains data on a whole range of areas within the market.

(TRMA) Summary and Conclusions

Global significance of teak
Teak is a small proportion of world timber production and trade. The estimated market share of teak
logs in total tropical round wood production is less than 2% but in terms of value it is much larger,
since teak is part of the high-value hardwood market, and is a major component of the forest
economies of many tropical countries. Planted teak forests have attracted large investments from the
private sector in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Globally, they constitute the only planted
hardwood resource that is increasing in terms of area.

Survey coverage
The Teak Resources and Market Assessment 2010 (TRMA 2010) was conducted in 2011 in 69
countries, 9 of which reported that they do not grow teak. 43 countries reported that they grow teak,
but of them only 38 countries were able to give data on the species.

Teak areas
Natural teak forests are estimated to cover 29.035 million ha in India, Lao PDR, Myanmar and
Thailand. Almost half of the total is in Myanmar. The area of planted teak forests reported by 38
countries is estimated to be 4.346 million ha, of which 83% is in Asia, 11% in Africa, and 6% in
tropical America. Taking into account the data missing from 22 teak-growing countries, this figure
certainly underestimates the actual area of planted teak forests.

Planted teak – A globally emerging hardwood.
Planted teak is the only valuable hardwood that constitutes a globally emerging forest resource.
Compared with previous surveys, the planted teak area has increased greatly in Africa (Benin,
Ghana, Nigeria, United Republic of Tanzania), Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador,
Guatemala, Nicaragua, Panama), South America (Ecuador, Brazil) and Asia (India, Indonesia,
Myanmar, Lao PDR).

Age class distribution and rotation age
Planted teak forests are predominantly (77%) younger than 20 years. The prevailing age class
distribution shows recent efforts to establish planted teak forests, but the current enthusiasm of
many corporate and private investors for planted teak will maintain the youthful age structure and,
in order to improve the economic rate of return, will tend to shorten the rotation period. This will
lead to a significant increase in the supply of small-dimension logs grown in short rotations not
exceeding 20 years.

Ownership
In Africa, Asia and the Caribbean most planted teak forests are owned by governments, generally
the forestry or agricultural administration, but in Central and South America state governments own
merely between 1% and 12% of planted teak forests, while the private sector holds 88% in Central
America and 99% in South America. Teak is not currently a priority species in community forestry,
although there are a number of cases of smallholder teak plantations which have contributed to the
improvement of rural livelihoods.

Growth performance
The reported growth rates of planted teak are contentious. Many growth predictions continue to
appear on the internet and in literature, predicting very high growth rates above 20m3/ha/year. The
actual long-term productivity of planted teak has, however, often turned out lower than predicted.
Teak is not a fast growing species per se. Its growth performance depends on the quality of the
planting material and the very best management practices. The mean annual increment (MAI)
reported by 26 countries appears rather modest and lies, for most regions, between 2 and 14
m3/ha/year, except for some high-intensity investment schemes in Central and South America.

Supply from natural teak forests and genetic resources
Myanmar is the only country producing quality teak from natural forests as India, Lao PDR and
Thailand have logging bans in natural forests or log export bans in place. A maximum sustainable
supply of quality teak from Myanmar is likely to be in the order of 400,000m3/yr or less. In future it
can be expected that the sustained production of teak logs from natural forests will be further
limited due to increasing deforestation and competition for environmental services. Hence, the
supply trend points to a continuing decline in the volume and quality of natural teak and it is
imperative to initiate a program for the conservation of natural teak forests if the genetic resources
of natural teak are to be sustained.

Global teak market trends
The global teak market has been and will continue to be governed by trends in the Asian market.
Asia holds more than 90% of the world's teak resources and India alone manages 38% of the
world's planted teak forests. The high international demand for general utility teak has broadened
the traditional teak supply base from natural forests in Asia to include fast-grown, small-diameter
plantation logs from Africa and Latin America.Indian demand dominates the market
The major teak trade flows worldwide are directed towards India, while its own considerable teak
production is processed within the country. Eleven out of fourteen reporting countries name India as
their number 1 importer, absorbing 70% to 100% of global teak exports including shipments of
plantation logs and sawn timber from Africa and Latin America. In Africa, significant exporters are
Benin, Ghana, the United Republic of Tanzania and Togo. In Latin America, Ecuador, El Salvador,
Guatemala and Brazil, are important teak exporters (no information was available from Costa Rica
and Panama).

Price and quality
Obtaining prices for teak logs and sawn timber proved to be difficult. No common international log
grading rules have been established, most exporting countries’ definition of log dimensions turned
out to be different, and the use of various measuring units for dimension and volume further
complicated the price survey. As a general rule it can be established that teak prices are very closely
related to wood quality. Quality in teak is determined by dimension, bole shape (roundness and
straightness), heartwood/sapwood ratio, regularity of annual rings, number of knots, colour, texture
and the soundness of the butt log. Teak from natural forests in general possesses many of these
features to some extent and sells at comparatively high prices. Logs from planted teak forests are
typically smaller in size and will hardly ever reach the dimension, quality features and prices of logs
grown in old-growth forests.
To download the full report please visit www.asiateakgroup.com or request via email to
info@asiateakgroup.com

Direct commodity investment

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 15:05:00 +0000

Whilst few people realise it, timber has outperformed the stock market significantly over the last 30 years.

Of course, there’s a fundamental factor driving this performance for timber – biology. No matter what’s going on in the world or the financial markets, trees keep growing. Couple that with natural inflation and timber provides a great tool to diversify portfolios and immediately owning trees becomes a very interesting proposition.

AsiaTeak have pioneered a structure that not only offers a secure purchase, but also further de-risks what is already considered to be a low risk opportunity. From established processes to robust day to day management practice, AsiaTeak ensures customer security by retaining 25% of the stock. Retaining stock creates confidence for the customer in that AsiaTeak can satisfy their contractual obligations whilst remaining the largest holder of stock.

We invite you to take a closer look into AsiaTeak’s unique investment opportunity and learn how by including teak trees in a clients portfolio, as a direct commodity can offer multiple benefits:

• Exceptional customer security
• 5–10 year growth cycles
• 8-12% IRR
• Harvest Flexibility 2017-2021
• Purchase directly or through SIPP/SSAS

Click here for more information.

Chillblast Ltd - EIS - from £25,000

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 16:16:00 +0000

The opportunity is to invest in Decision Logic Limited - trading as Chillblast - an already highly profitable company that is expanding to accommodate new and future orders.Chillblast is a company who manufacture pc’s and are at the very top end of the 3d gaming market having won several industry awards in 2011. Founded in 2001, they have gone from manufacturing 2,000 units per annum in 2010 to 6,000 units in 2011.

Chillblast are poised to announce a lucrative sales contract with a well known online buyer. In order to expand the company and increase output, they are selling 25% equity in Decision Logic Ltd for £12 million – up to £2 million raised is eligible for tax benefits available under the terms of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS).

Whilst they have been repeatedly approached by major computer manufacturers, Chillblast has resisted mass-manufacturing their products as they have defined a profitable audience. However, the potential upside for a business that has a strong consumer brand which is recognised for building machines that are faster than other computer manufacturers for less money is huge.

Company valuation

In regards to trade sales there are not many comparisons to Chillblast. The valuation on current sales volumes is now only 3 x turnover which, in high end hardware is an incredibly low multiple, however 5 to 10 x turnover is a more realistic valuation based on forward income calculations. Current growth in the business is exceptionally strong with 2012 sales having already hit a record 911 units in the first three weeks of January trading. This equates to sales revenue of over £900,000 and provides huge confidence in the product as the story continues to build momentum.Although the valuation for EIS investors will not change it is highly likely that valuation as a multiple of turnover will change for the private equity investor based upon the new sales contract and the exponential growth of the business provided by this first round of EIS capital raising.

Investment terms

£12 million equity available. £10 million to be raised from private equity subject to valuations. Up to £2 million raised is eligible for tax benefits available under the terms of the Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) for the 2011/2012 tax year.The Directors of Decision Logic Ltd are committed to growing the company rapidly within a three year period. With a view to issuing an IPO within 18 months to 3 years. Investors could see a multiple of returns on their investment.

Client eligibility

Sophisticated or High Net worth Investor status only.

Isis managed FX program - results December 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 09:44:00 +0000

Isis FX SIPP Program

Month: - 1.2%

Rolling 12 Months: - 5%

All figures reported net of fees. Prior performance is not indicative of future results.

Managers' Commentary.

Performance for the month of December 2011: -

Commenting on the performance of the AAM Isis FX Program, Portfolio Manager Imran Khan said:

December turned out to be another challenging month for the currency markets as volatility continued to remain high. As a result, our model lowered its leverage to 0.5:1.

Trade 1

Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was above our entry level when the market rallied & triggered the DSL.

Best Laid Plans hits cinemas February 3rd 2012

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:53:00 +0000

Some friendships are worth fighting for…

Best Laid Plans

The gritty new thriller starring Stephen Graham, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Maxine Peake and David O’Hara

Hitting cinemas on February 3

London, UK. 06/12/11 – Stephen Graham (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Public Enemies, This Is England, TV’s “Boardwalk Empire”), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (TV’s “Lost”, The Thing, Faster), Maxine Peake (TV’s “Shameless”, “See No Evil: The Moors Murders”, “Silk”) and David O’Hara (Cowboys & Aliens, The Departed, Wanted) star in the gritty inner-city drama that goes the distance. Also starring Emma Stansfield (TV’s “Coronation Street” and “Tess of the D’Urbervilles”) and Lee Ingleby (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, TV’s “Inspector George Gently”). BEST LAID PLANS hits cinemas on February 3 courtesy of Vertigo Films.

SYNOPSIS

Two men, a unique friendship, a violent world. Danny (Graham) is a scruffy small-time chancer, small in stature, but with a sharp eye for a scam. Joseph (Akinnuoye-Agbaje) is a giant of a man, but with the mental age of a seven-year-old and gentle as a lamb despite his extraordinary strength. Living together in their scuzzy inner-city flat, this odd-couple are opposites who can’t live without each other: they pull petty thefts, go fishing and drink beer. They’ve been friends for years – but their relationship is about to be pushed to the limit.

Danny is in trouble. Big trouble. He owes 10 grand in cocaine to local crime kingpin Curtis (O’Hara), who wants the money or the gear. Danny doesn’t have either – every penny he begs or borrows, he immediately snorts, drinks or spends on prostitutes. To pay off his drug-debt, Danny is left with just one option: to drag Joseph into the terrifying underworld of bare-knuckle boxing.

As the violence escalates during this bleak winter, both men meet women who could offer them a chance of escape. Danny begins a relationship with a prostitute named Lisa (Stansfield), while Joseph stumbles into a delicate romance with the sweet, simple Isabel (Peake). But in a succession of increasingly savage fights, Danny’s conscience gets more and more battered – and so does the powerful but innocent Joseph. Something has to give. In this harsh, emotional drama of bleeding hearts and faces, will Danny and Joseph survive?

BEST LAID PLANS marks the third feature from BAFTA and Emmy winning Director David Blair (“Tess of the D’Urbervilles”, “The Street”, “Accused”), from a script written by Chris Green (Desperate Measures). The producers are Michael Knowles and Stacey Murray (A Boy Called Dad) and Brad Moore, who have assembled a talented team including director of photography Ali Asad (Rise of the Footsoldier, Dead Man Running, Bonded By Blood), production designer Kristian Milsted (Unmade Beds) and art director Blair Barnette (Heroes). Mark Foligno is executive producer (The King’s Speech).

How to use general insurance to build your Financial Planning practice.

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:17:00 +0000

Protection has always had an important role to play in providing a complete Financial Planning service, but advisers often restrict their advice to the life insurance market, leaving many of their clients to arrange cover on a direct basis with regards to their household, motor and travel insurance requirements.

The increased regulation in the general insurance industry from January 2005 had made this an area where specialist knowledge was required, and many Financial Planners decided that this was not an area of advice to be included within their practice.

High quality Financial Planners achieve trusted adviser status with their clients. They also recognise that the protection of a client’s assets should also extend to their property assets.

You should consider whether it is possible to outsource this area of advice to a private client insurance broker. Such firms will have the expertise required to ensure that your clients have adequate protection in place, act as an additional area of expertise for you to offer the client, and help create the fortress for your company, which keeps competition from your client.

Furthermore, the majority of wealthy, time compressed individuals, tend to neglect looking after their insurances effectively – many different policies, different renewal dates, poorly rated and out of date for sums insured and so on. With a specialist insurance broker’s involvement, a single portfolio policy could be arranged, which will provide a common renewal date for all their insurance requirements. This can often provide a significant premium saving in addition to the greater convenience of having an individual point of contact.

Barry Horner CFPCM, chief executive of Paradigm Norton certainly agrees. His firm were quick to spot the possible benefits that the effective provision of general insurance would have for current and future clients. He said: “We had been aware for a while that our client proposition did not include any provision for general insurance. This had been a conscious decision on our part as we had been unable to find a process, which we felt would provide any significant value for our clients. We did not want to provide them with an off the shelf policy, and also felt uncomfortable in offering advice in an area where we had no specialist knowledge. We were introduced to a leading private client insurance broker though the IFP and I had a good personal experience of their service before we introduced them to any of our clients.

“The ability to be able to offer our clients a comprehensive insurance review without any cost or obligation on their part and to then be able to provide a single portfolio policy covering all their insurance needs has been invaluable.

“It has saved them time and money in equal measure and as such it has become a core part of our annual review with clients. For our existing clients I believe that this process provides them with the peace of mind that they have adequate protection in place, and I am sure that this will act as a further reason in encouraging new clients to Paradigm Norton.”

A formal agreement with a private client insurance broker also opens up other opportunities that should be considered. For example, most insurance brokers will be happy to pay an introducer fee on an annual basis, up to 20 per cent of the commission they receive from insurers. This could be used to generate an additional passive income stream into your practice, or to offset against annual fees for Financial planners that have already made the transition away from a commission-based model Other companies have decided that this commission should be given back to the clients as an additional discount from their annual insurance premiums, generating further goodwill that often leads to a referral to another potential client. In addition to this, a strategic relationship may well open up the possibility of introductions being made to any relevant clients of the insurance broker for their Financial Planning requirements.

Written by George Seatter, Managing Director of Green Park Insurance Services

Isis managed FX program - results November 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:38:00 +0000

Month: 3.05% and rolling 12 months: 5.36%

Performance: - From June 2006 to November 2011.

Best Month = 17.16%
Average Monthly Return = 4.52%.
Worst Month = -10.00%.
Winning Months = 50 of 60.
Losing Months = 10 of 60.

Managers' Commentary:
November proved to be another challenging month for the currency markets as volatility remained high. As a result, our model lowered its leverage level from 1:1 down to 0.5:1 into week one.

All four trades were generated in the first-half of the month; the second-half resulted in no trades as our model remained neutral. We ended the month in positive territory but fell short of our monthly target. However, we have continued to remain above our main currency benchmark for the year.
Trade 1 Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was below our entry level when the market rallied & triggered the DSL.
Trade 2 Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was above our entry level when the market rallied & triggered the DSL.
Trade 3 Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower and reached our price objective.
Trade 4 Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was above our entry level when the market rallied & triggered the DSL.

If you would like more detail, please email us on info@thealternativeexchange.co.uk

Anello No 1 in top 20 CTA Consistency Index Ranking

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:34:00 +0000

Anello tops the October top 20 CTA consistency index ranking.

The Consistency Index measures all manager's historical performance in terms of how consistently each manager maintained a high level of reward and minimised risk by protecting against downside volatility. The CI evaluates and ranks each manager for multiple time periods. The CI calculates the Total Return minus the risk free rate of return divided by the Total of the 10 largest separate Maximum Draw downs.

Trading Methodology
The AAM ISIS PROGRAM is a short-term discretionary trading model developed by Imran Khan 2004 and is focused on global spot FX currencies. The approach is applied predominantly to the G-12 currency markets from the 32 currency pairs available in the portfolio. The key features of the Isis Program are: 1) Not trend following; 2) Not correlated to traditional assets; 3) No negative years since inception. It generates trading strategies aimed at providing superior returns. There are typically 1-12 trades per month, with positions being held from within an intra-day basis to approximately 7 days. It is driven by Blackwave Technology. This proprietary system was designed by Imran Khan to capture short-term trend reversals in the market using pattern recognition and statistical time series algorithms combined with advanced technical indicators. The trading methodology benefits from a robust risk management framework. Controlling downside risk on each and every trade provides two significant advantages. The first is that it focuses on selecting trades with good reward/risk ratios. Secondly, strict discipline in respecting both the stop loss level and the take profit target are what determines its success. Risk is allocated within the construction of each individual trade. At an overall portfolio level, there is maximum monthly stop loss limit for the strategy at -6%. The average number of trades per month forms the basis of the consistency of the risk allocated to each and every single trade. The program trades approximately 1-12 times per month, and will generally risk between 0.50% - 2.00% on any given trade. This consistent approach to risk allocation per trade in a discretionary strategy is the key to generating steady returns over time. Risk is monitored in real time. If the maximum monthly stop loss is hit in any month (which has never occurred), the manager must cease to trade. If this were the case on three months running, an objective assessment would be carried out internally (and with communication to our clients) as to that manager's viability within the overall portfolio. The Isis FX Program is also available X 5 and X 10. Track record available on request.

If you would like more detail, please email us on info@thealternativeexchange.co.uk

Isis managed FX program - results for October 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:37:00 +0000

Month: -6.7% and rolling 12 months: -2.2%

Performance:
From June 2006 to October 2011.

Best Month = 17.16%
Average Monthly Return = 4.36%.
Worst Month = -10.00%.
Winning Months = 49 of 60.
Losing Months = 11 of 60.

Managers' Commentary:

Performance for the month of October 2011:

Currency markets continued to remain volatile in October especially as concerns grew over the EU bailout packages for Greece and Italy.

Trade 1
Model generated a buy signal. Market moved higher but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was below our entry level when the market fell and triggered the DSL.

Trade 2
Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower and reached our price objective.

Trade 3
Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was below our entry level when the market rallied & triggered the DSL.

Trade 4
Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was above our entry level when the market rallied & triggered the DSL.

Trade 5
Model generated a sell signal. Market moved lower but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was above our entry level when the market rallied & triggered the DSL.

Best Laid Plans at the American Film Market

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Sat, 05 Nov 2011 12:40:00 +0000

The MoliFilms team is attending and presenting Best Laid Plans to the American Film Market from the 2nd to 9th November 2011 in Santa Monica, California.

The fund raise is building momentum every week and currently we have raised 50% of the £2M target.

If you have any clients who might be interested we can arrange a presentation with Mark Foligno and the MoliFilms team but I would urge you to speed this up as we are near to closing within the next few weeks.

MoliFilms is a Multi-Film EIS investment, Best Laid Plans is the first film to be completed and due for release this year. Minimum investment is £20,000 and is SIPP approved.

To arrange a meeting with MoliFilms please contact me using this link.

Anello opens up forex account for SIPP clients

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 12:34:00 +0000

Alternative investment manager Anello Asset Management has teamed with Sipp providers to allow IFAs to use its forex managed account in clients’ Sipp portfolios.

Mark Hewlett, managing partner for Anello, said its AAM Isis FX programme could be used with Pointon York, Berkeley Burke, Brooklands Pensions, the James Hay Partnership and Westerbys.

Mr Hewlett said the account provided an uncorrelated asset and a growth area for clients. He said: “A managed account has benefits over a fund as it can be accessed daily. Currency is a good place to be as if the market is played well, there is always an area going up.

“We are working closely with Sipp providers and executing brokers to offer our recently launched Mantis and Diversified Futures Programmes as Sipps in the near future, while continuing our strong performance.”

Louis Hurd, senior business development manager for Anello, said: “Speaking to some close contacts in the wealth management sector, it seemed there was a definite gap in the market for an FX manager with an emphasis on capital preservation.

“As a result we engineered our AAM Isis FX Programme, usually aimed at institutions, for investment from private individuals through their Sipps. To date, the take-up by IFAs and Sipp providers has been impressive given the volatility of the market, the non-performance of traditional investments and the uncorrelated nature of our strategy, we anticipate it to continue for the foreseeable future.”

The AAM Isis FX Programme primarily trades G10 currencies, although it will maintain limited exposure to emerging markets, when validated by AAM’s research process.

It has returned 0.55 per cent in the past three months and 1.22 per cent in the past 12 months, according to Mr Hewlett.

Mark Andrews, managing director of Manchester-based Redswan Wealth, said: “Any investment should be looked at in terms of its overall risk and reward ratio and in line with the client’s appetite for risk. Currency investment is a highly specialised area and clients should be careful about entering into uncertain grounds. It can be a particularly volatile investment.

Article courtesy of FTAdvisor

Sustainable - Predictable - Deliverable

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 08:16:00 +0000

Timber related investments have typically been the preserve of sovereign wealth funds and institutional investors for well over a century. Timber has been acknowledged as one of the few higher return, lower risk asset classes in the market by virtue of combining the uncorrelated pricing with the continued physical growth of the asset. Money managers actively endorse timber as a long term, safe haven for the cautious investor.

In more recent years larger plantations have begun to sell their assets and raised investment through collective investment arrangements and other fund structures. But how can these highly lucrative and low volatility investments become part of a clients portfolio under a direct physical ownership structure without the complexity of collective/fund characteristics or without a client having £1m+ required to own the plantation outright?

The answer is; 'forward timber purchase orders'.

What we are witnessing is a seismic shift in market ethos and we feel these types of opportunities will become common place over the next few years and will be as attractive to investors and as simple to execute, as owning a bar of gold, holding a series of tangible/real assets or investing in the FTSE.

If you require more information please visit our forestry page here.

Isis managed FX program - results for September 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:48:00 +0000

September: 1.8% and rolling 12 months: 14.99%

Performance:
From June 2006 to August 2011.

Best Month = 17.16%.
Average Monthly Return = 4.53%.
Worst Month = -10.00%.
Winning Months = 50 of 60.
Losing Months = 10 of 60.

Managers' Commentary:
"September proved to be a very challenging month due to periods of high volatility in the currency markets. Our model reflected this by halving usual trade sizes. The model generated two trades this month, one positive and one negative. We ended the month in positive territory but fell short of our monthly target. However, we have continued to out perform our main currency benchmark for the year.”

Trade 1
Model generated a buy signal. Market moved higher but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL (Dynamic Stop Loss) was above our entry level when the market fell and triggered the DSL.

Trade 2
Model generated a buy signal. Market moved higher but failed to reach our price objective. The DSL was below our entry level when the market fell and triggered the DSL.

The Best Laid Plans might involve an alternative or two..

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:36:00 +0000

Yesterdays stockmarket falls are very unwelcome news, but perhaps it will cajole the politicians and bureaucrats into action to address the problems within global economies. As a part of my role, I seek out a range of investment opportunities, besides those simply of shares. Shares (or equities) are obviously volatile but have a proven long-term track record, however there are other forms of investing that can be helpful to those looking to diversify beyond the available cash, gilts, bonds, property and equity funds. One such opportunity might be to consider investing in the film industry.

Most people will be aware that there are many films that don't make it to the big screen - a serious number. This may have little to do with the quality of the film (think of all the dire blockbusters that you have seen over the years) yet every once in a while a "small film" finds massive commercial success. In recent years, from a British perspective this might have included "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Kings Speech". These are generally unexpected and very welcome successes. Most of the time, films do not find such international success.

That said, success is a term that can be rather misleading. As an investor what one really wants to achieve is a positive return on capital. Investing in film needs to be done carefully, largely due to the way that films are financed, not the way they are edited. Commercial and financial success hang upon the way a film is distributed and in 2011 this includes DVD, rental, pay-per-view, download and cinema release as well as the possibility of merchandising.

Last night I was doing some research on your behalf at a private screening of "Best Laid Plans" which is produced by Molifilms, whose MD, Mark Foligno also executive produced "The Kings Speech" whilst at Molinaire. The film is one of several that are part of a financing investing opportunity for those with a minimum of £25,000. This would be an investment in an Enterprise Investment Scheme and therefore would qualify for tax relief on the investment of up to 30% (this was increased from 20% in the last Budget but not yet finalised). So a £25,000 investment ought to see £7,500 returned to the investor in tax relief (a net investment of £19,250). In addition, provided the shares are held in the company for 3 years there is no capital gains to pay. Sounding better still. Of course how the EIS is structured, the underlying financing and management of the business (Mark Foligno who has a strong pedigree with considerable success) are all vital elements in assessing whether this is a good investment, let alone an appropriate one.

As for the film itself, it is a pithy, dark tale of a life of grime and crime in Nottingham. In many ways not unlike "One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest" with one of the main characters having significant learning difficulties - the gentle giant who is taken advantage of my some fairly unsavoury characters. Unlikely to have box office "success" but a movie that many will probably see. The lead actor, Stephen Graham, who recently appeared in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy" is particularly good. It is not everyones cup of tea, its a raw life urban Brit flick.

As an investment - well I'm still conducting my "due diligence" but if this sort of investment appeals to you, then you could have a look at the prospectus yourself, or call me once I have completed my research. This article is in no way advice, merely commentary on the diversity of investments available and the sort of things I get up to seeking out opportunities for clients.

By Dominic Thomas, Soloman's Financial Planning

Physical commodity - Loan Note - SIPP Compliant

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 13:55:00 +0000

We are launching very soon a commodity based investment with Mercury Metals Ltd which offers investors the opportunity to invest in the secondary (scrap) metal market.

The volatility seen on the London Metals Exchange (LME) in recent years combined with Mercury Metals International’s network of contacts has created an opportunity to trade in non-ferrous scrap metal.

The company uses a simple investment model in non-ferrous scrap metals purchased in small quantities from numerous sources then physically containering scrap for sale and shipping to buyers in India, China, Japan and Europe.

All shipments are hedged against changing commodity and currency prices limiting the market risk.

To protect investors this investment is structured by way of a loan note secured against all the assets of the company, being metal and cash. The loan note is issued by a UK limited company and can be a direct investment or via SIPP.

For more information contact us here.

Isis managed FX program - results for August 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 09:24:00 +0000

August: -1.98% and rolling 12 months: 29.22%

Manager's Commentary

Performance for the month of August 2011: - 0.826%

Due to the volatility in the currency markets this month our underlying trading model indicated using a leverage of 1:1 only generated one trade in August, unfortunately this ended up turning into a negative trade.

We were disappointed to post a loss this month however, we still continue to outperform our benchmark.

Trade 1

A sell signal was generated. Our target objective was not reached and the market moved against us triggering our stop loss.

Forestry & Timber Analysis

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 13:07:00 +0000

Due diligence on funds and collective investment schemes takes on a certain methodology. However retail or direct investment is another market altogether, and whilst there appears to be adequate levels of security and documentation available, how do we really know who and what we are investing in. Please find below some general thoughts on the forestry sector, in particular retail investments that are becoming more readily available and in our opinion should not be ignored when considering asset allocation for alternative investments.

When analysing the viability of a forestry product for and on behalf of your clients it is of paramount importance to understand not just the underlying asset class but the set up and operations of the company involved and the strength of the management team. Certain forestry products are low risk in terms of asset performance yet they are also relatively long term investments, so as well as understanding the product, you need to make sure that the company that you and your clients have put faith in has the financial ability to deliver that product over the long term. If carried out the right way forestry has the potential to deliver above average returns in a fairly predictable environment and has been doing so for centuries, however more recently we have seen the introduction and availability of new retail investments that make some pretty impressive predictions. And whilst the forestry sector welcomes new ideas, we all need to be careful in getting carried away with huge returns. After all, if it was that good, then surely the company’s would want to develop their own assets rather than sell them off cheaply.

Categorisation

Firstly it is important to categorise forestry products before assessing client suitability, as this will indicate to some degree the levels of risk that your clients are exposed to. Forestry is the broader term used for the entire sector that encompasses an array of products both old and new. For example oak trees have been growing for centuries and offer low volatility where as green oil extracts taken from a Jatropha plant has only really been available for the last 5 years. Both sit within the forestry/sustainable space but clearly sit at different ends of the risk spectrum. The oldest timber products that go back centuries are often the safest as there will be decades of data to trawl through, not to mention that the market place for high-grade timber is fairly simple and fairly liquid. Products that extract oil from a plant or a tree can often produce significantly higher returns on investment but the processing required to extract and produce the oil can be complicated and costly, and the market place can be extremely volatile from a pricing point of view. Both products are viable, deliverable and sit within the forestry space, yet have very different characteristics. So firstly recognise which sub sector the product sits in as this should be the basis of the entire due diligence.

Liquidity

Once the tree/product is of a relatively decent size/age class then it should be a fairly liquid asset. But not all forestry products are the same so satisfy yourself as to the exit route for the products, and ask for evidence of this. Be wary of guaranteed exit routes, except for standard market sales, as there is nothing that obligates these buyers and it can lead to a false sense of liquidity. It makes more sense to invest in an asset with the future values based on market pricing at the time of exit, as opposed to made up numbers that may or may not come to fruition. It is crucial that a forestry company can demonstrate how and when a product gets sold and the processes involved. The lower risk forestry products have simple and easy routes to market. The more complex the process, the greater the risk and therefore the greater return. Ask your forestry company for evidence of the sales market and have confidence that they have the right management team and relationships in order to maximise the value of the asset on exit.

The Financial Curve

Some companies get themselves into financial trouble because of incompetence, others because they were designed that way (Fraud!). Both sets of circumstances are equally dangerous. Some companies start off with good intentions to do well but through lack of restraint and financial governance they get themselves into trouble and before too long put financial pressure on themselves. Use companies house to try to piece together the financial history of the business. Has the business in the UK or the overseas entity been capitalised with £1? Was the very first set of investor monies through the door used to buy the land and plant the product via an option agreement? IN other words is the company behind the curve. Or was the product already in existence and the monies/profits used from the sale of existing products for further expansion? In this instance being ahead of the curve. This particular point is crucial as it is the basis with which the entire organisation and its financial well being is potentially based on.

Actual returns and exit strategy

Be assured that the money returned to your client is the money derived from either the proceeds of the physical sale of the product or from the sale of the contract to a third party. Don’t be afraid to ask the provider for proof in both instances. If the asset manager is buying their stock back, which can and does happen, then you need to be sure that they are doing it from their own profits and not new investment monies. Where companies get themselves into trouble, is that they over estimate or promise huge returns based on a series of variables and often over time frames which aren’t congruent with the growth rates of the product. Typically this happens when a company is new and feels that they need to over-egg the returns to attract buyers. It then becomes tempting to use new investment monies from new investors to top up the returns from an underperforming asset rather than deal with the potential legal fall out and reputational damage by defaulting on a buy back or fixed return arrangement. *If you market the opportunity the correct way in the first place and make it clear where the risks are then clients may not mind hearing “the product just didn’t produce what we wanted it to produce but hey that’s what you get when you project 500% ROI in 3 years!.” Once you reach this point it is only a question of time before the whole thing collapses. Your clients may get lucky and be first out but nobody wants or needs the reputational damage through association alone.

Investing alongside the asset manager

Forestry can be so lucrative long term, why wouldn’t anyone want a piece of the action, including the plantation owners themselves. Ask the question and be satisfied that the forestry company is also benefiting from the long term benefits and are retaining sufficient assets for themselves and their shareholders. An annual audit of some description should be able to produce evidence on this aspect and this should provide some level of comfort.

Corporate Governance and Infrastructure

Take a careful look at the legal frame work and corporate governance of these companies. Is the company that your client pays their money to the actual owner of the assets or the majority shareholder of the foreign entity that owns the assets? If your provider cannot provide sufficient evidence of this then the advice is to walk away as the UK entity can easily close down and cease to exist with no recourse. How many people work in their UK operations? And what percentage of turnover goes on the asset itself? Large infrastructures in the UK look great, with nice offices and a nice team of people that all require nice salaries. The reality is that forestry companies should be forestry companies and not marketing machines, large infrastructure costs can lead to unnecessary financial pressure and could put your client’s investment at risk.

Security

Security is naturally of paramount importance. What does your client actually own? Land leases are fairly popular mechanisms for ownership but you need to be able to validate the lease, as they are often just documents. Good products will have sufficient security for their customers on an aggregated basis and will make this clear from the outset. It isn’t easy to provide collective security for individual investors. Often a trust is in place that has a charge over the company’s assets.

Multi Asset Offerings

We are always wary of multi asset forestry companies. Certain forestry companies can offer 2 or 3 products. Usually this is done because certain products can be planted amongst one another, therefore doubling the revenue per acre to the company. However please be careful of legal ownership issues where this occurs, as two people could own the same space and this could cause legal problems later on. More often than not it is simply because the two products complement each other from a time scales perspective, where one is long term and the other has a shorter term cycle and therefore has a better marketing feel. It is important that the company, whatever product they produce, have the expertise to deliver the asset but we favour single species forestry companies that have one area of demonstrable expertise.

Summary

The broader point to make once you are satisfied with your own due diligence is to really make sure that your clients and you understand where the opportunity sits within the risk spectrum. The key issues that the regulators need to consider is the way in which companies market themselves to the advisor network and to the general public. Forestry can be low, medium or high risk depending on a lot of variables as mentioned above, but this needs to be communicated to the consumer far more clearly. Any company that doesn’t publicly offer risk assessment as part of their marketing material should be avoided.

Written by: James Churchman

Mercury Metals Corporate Responsibility

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:33:00 +0000

Mercury Metals Ltd (MML) is determined to ensure that all of its operations meet the highest levels of corporate responsibility and as such are ensuring that we are working closely with our Ghanaian partners Sillsports Academy ensuring that the local community benefits from our operations in Ghana. In addition to the business relationship MML has pledged a percentage of the net profits from the Ghanaian operations into the Sillsports Academy.

Sillsports Academy
The original academy was founded by Christopher Antoh Forsythe. Chris was once a homeless child himself, living on the streets of Ghana until he was adopted by George Forsythe a Head Teacher from Belfast and was brought to live in Northern Ireland. His love for football has always remained strong and this led to his wish to establish a football academy in Ghana to train and educate street children. So the Glentoran Football Academy was born in the town of Sunyani in central Ghana, where Chris himself was once a street child.

The academy started its life as a simple, yet effective way to engage a large pool of street children on a regular basis, who traditionally had little or no access to sporting activities. As the academy developed, Chris decided to up weight his and his team’s ability to ‘coach' and mentor the candidates both on and off the football pitch and within a relatively short period of time Chris managed to help over 450 children get off the streets. With Africa producing star players like Michael Essien of Chelsea in the English Premier League, Stephen Appiah of Fernabache in Turkey and Sulley Ali Muntari of Inter Milan in Italy, the academy uses these players as role models to encourage every soccer loving child to believe in the future. Moreover, the academy uses football and sport in general to educate the children, to teach them about the negative effects of “being on the streets”, the dangers of HIV/AIDS and promotes how their lives can change and how they could reach their potential by joining the academy.

From these very simplistic and humble beginnings, Chris and his team have continued to expand and improve the academy with essential financial support and generosity from the supporters of Glentoran FC via the GCT together with the tireless efforts of both club and trust teams. It is this effort and goodwill that has made the academy what it is today, a well respected football coaching establishment with strong links with the Ghana FA and longstanding relationships with many of the African Nation's football fraternity. The academy has grown and continues to grow at an astonishing rate which reflects the focus, drive and tireless efforts of its founder.

Most recently, The Sillsports Group was invited to join the Glentoran FC team to shape the future evolution and expansion of the academy. The academy was renamed the Sillsports Football Academy (Africa) and the company has already commenced its investment programme to build an infrastructure capable of producing a greater number of successful players and keeping many more young people off the streets.

For more information click here.

Isis managed FX program - results for July 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 10:43:00 +0000

July: 2.85% and rolling 12 months: 25.64%

Managers' Commentary.

We continue to remain negative on the USD until year-end. The CHF, generally considered a safe haven currency,has been subject to intervention by the SNB to moderate its strengthening bias, proof of which is the recent decision to lower its target rate. We expect USD.CHF to stabilize into year-end at or near 0.77.

The British pound rallied through much of July, near-term strength coming on the back of USD weakness.

The JPY outlook remains positive. The Japanese authorities decided to intervene to moderate gains in USD.JPY traded as low as 76.30 as of 01 August.

The Euro lost ground against the USD. EUR.USD has been trending downwards since reaching a peak of 1.4940 on 4th May, trading as low as 1.37 in early July.

For more information click here

Sean Brett of Hampton Dean, winner of the Altex web product survey

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:28:00 +0000

Andrew Smith, Business Development Manager at The Alternative Exchange takes a trip up to Nottingham to meet the winner of the Altex web survey....

On a recent trip up to the Midlands, I took a drive into Nottingham’s Marina to visit Hampton Dean to meet the lucky winner of our web survey competition. Sean Brett was the fortunate contestant drawn from the hat to win an iPad2 and said he couldn’t wait to get it home so his children could show him how to use it!

He’d obviously been showing off to the office that he’d won because when I arrived and explained I was there to see Sean, five of his colleagues instantly appeared and came along to see the ‘official’ prize giving. One of his colleagues kindly offered to take the photo you’re looking at so a big thank you to all at Hampton Dean and congratulations again to Sean.

Andrew

Andrew Smith (left) presenting Sean Brett with his prize, many congratulations from the team at Altex.

Physical Gold Headlines - The last 2 weeks..

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 09:40:00 +0000

UK household disposable income has plunged 2.7% in the past year - the largest annual drop since 1977. Take home pay is being squeezed by wage freezes and tax rises. Additionally, UK families are being stung by food prices 5.7% higher in June than in the same month last year. That is more than double the average pay rise being handed out to private sector workers, currently 2.5 per cent.

Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King claims the money markets felt there was an 80% chance if Greece defaulting in its debts regardless of whether the latest austerity measures are passed. The Government and Bank are already drawing up contingency plans to deal with the potential fallout.

Greek MPs voted 155 to 138 to slash public spending as part of a ￡25billion austerity package that will also see taxes soar. With just 2 weeks before Greece's economy ran out of cash, it will now get a £98billion EU lifeline, but even that will only last until September.

Two leading investment banks calculate that GDP fell by 0.2% between April and June. The forecast will be a brutal blow to Chancellor George Osborne with his biggest spending cuts yet to bite, and revive fears of another recession.

Barack Obama has warned that unless his administration allows the US debt ceiling to rise in August from $14trillion, America could default on its existing debts - which would pose a "significant an unpredictable" impact in the world.

A survey has shown there have already been as many profit warnings by UK retailers in the first half of 2011 as in the whole of 2010 and a poll of finance directors found they are now more pessimistic than at any point since the collapse of US bank Lehman Brothers in 2008.

The European debt crisis threatened to enter a devastating new phase amid fears that Portugal – like Greece – will need a second bailout and could spread back to Ireland or even to Spain and Italy.

China’s asset managers, who have been approved to raise $70 billion for allocation overseas, are seeking additional funds to invest in gold and precious metals as soaring inflation spurs interest in alternative assets as a way to protect wealth.

Physical Gold Market Observations
Very strong buying of UK tax free coins despite the expected summer slow down as more investors seek a tax efficient store of wealth in an increasingly inflationary environment.

Isis FX program Market commentary results for June 2011

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Wed, 13 Jul 2011 15:53:00 +0000

June: -2.85% and YTD: 26.74%

Managers' Commentary:

The month of June saw the dollar begin to give up some of the recent strong performance
seen in Q1 as well as April and May, especially against EUR. For June, USD ended just 0.20%
up vs. EUR and fell 2.80% vs. JPY; leaving the dollar 9.30% higher, and 5.30% lower vs. the
EUR and JPY respectively over Q2.

JPY was approximately 3.0% stronger vs. both USD and EUR during June and moved 5.30%
and 14.30% higher against each currency over the second Quarter.

GBP appreciated 3.0% against both EUR and USD, whilst the quarter saw Sterling fall a little
over 1.0% vs. USD but move up over 8.0% against a weaker single currency (EUR).

Our view remains mixed, especially as we head into the summer holiday season and what
is traditionally regarded as a lower market volume period. Of concern will be the recent trend
in weaker than expected US and EZ economic data. Some analysts are now beginning to talk
about a “double dip” recession. This will have a consequent negative effect on USD.

For more information click here

Best Laid Plans full screening in Soho

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 11:03:00 +0000

Thankfully the weather dried up last night for the screening of Best Laid Plans. We had a really good turn out and the film went down a storm. And we were really lucky to have in attendance with Brad Moore & Mark Foligno, multiple Emmy & BAFTA winner the director of BLP - David Blair and the writer of BLP - Chris Green. All four were on hand to take questions and to talk about the making of the film.

More great news for BLP as more territories have be signed up and will shortly to be announced, plus two major territories are close to being signed up.

For more information go to Best Laid Plans or call us on 0207 199 1636

Thai Teak Fund Lunch at The Mercer

noreply@blogger.com (Juan Romero) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 10:12:00 +0000

Yesterday afternoon's Lunch at The Mercer was an excellent event, the venue & food was very good and we had full house. The event began with champagne and a bit of networking and then we were gently asked to take our seats for the MC to kick off the lunch.

Now if you haven't heard of Jonny Gould before then I would recommend him as a presenter as he was superb value, quick witted, very funny and from outset no one was safe. I am unable to repeat what he said but those of you that attended I am sure you are still chuckling to yourselves this morning at the things he said.

After lunch the guest speakers were introduced by Jonny and fair play to them as they got so much ribbing from him that I thought they handled themselves really well. We had the pleasure of Ben Kay and Tim Stimpson, former England and Leicester rugby legends taking questions from the audience. As always in these situations they don't know what they are going to get and they handled themselves well, both funny, good story tellers and they gave us a good insight to the world of rugby.

I hope those that attended enjoyed themselves as I did very much, so a big thank to IndustryRE for a very good event.