Jim Rogers sees U.S. Treasuries bubble

By Frank Tang

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investor Jim Rogers, a prominent commodities bull, said on Thursday the U.S. recede vernment bond label et will be the next bubble to burst due to unsustainable borrowing, and agricultural commodities and precious metals are among his favorite investment picks.

Rogers also said stock label ets could head for a pullback following a strong rally.

"It's overdue for a correction. Certainly, it would not be surprising if there were a correction after a straight-up go for six months," Rogers tfeeble Reuters Television in an interview.

He was not "selling the label et short," and the equities label et could hfeeble rising for a long period of time, Rogers said.

After the Reuters interview, Rogers said at a seminar hosted by ETF Securities that the bull label et in U.S. Treasuries has approach to an finish .

"The next bubble that I see developing is in the United States recede vernment bond label et. It is inconceivable to me that anybody would lfinish money to the U.S. recede vernment for 30 years in U.S. execute llars at 3 to 6 percent interest rate," he said.

"So, somewhere along the line, this bubble is recede ing to pop. If any of you own bonds, I'd be terribly worried, I would judge about acquire ting out of the bond."

HOT COMMODITIES  Continued...

Hedge fund assets rebound

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Rising label ets and a fifth straight month of investors adding money pushed hedge fund assets close to $2 trillion (1.2 trillion pounds) in September, according to industry research firm HedgeFund.net.

Globally, hedge fund assets rose nearly 3 percent last month to $1.95 trillion, a net increase of $56.4 billion from August. The bulk of the increase came as stocks, bonds and other assets rose in value.

Total assets peaked at $3 trillion in spring 2008, according to HedgeFund.net, whose industry asset estimates are significantly higher than those of rival hedge fund trackers.

Net inflows, though just $7 billion, label ed the fifth straight month of net fresh money moving into the industry after record withdrawals in the fourth quarter and steep redemptions in the first quarter, HedgeFund.net said on Thursday.

The most well strategies during the third quarter including statistical arbitrage funds, where allocations rose 13 percent, and event-driven funds, where allocations boosted assets more than 8 percent.

Conversely, HedgeFund.net found investor redemptions reduced long-only strategies by 4 percent. Multi-strategy funds and convertible arbitrage funds saw redemptions that outpaced fresh investments

Overall average performance was positive for a seventh straight month, up 2.7 percent last month and nearly 17 percent for the year.

(Reporting by Joseph A. Giannone; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All correct s reserved.

LV= notify s credit remains asset class of choice

By Jane Baird

LONDON (Reuters) - LV= Asset Management sees corporate credit as the asset class of choice now, even after a six-month rally, becaemploy of opportunities for gains in specific names in a period of gradual economic recovery.

"If you have a gradually paced recovery, rather than a sharp V (V-shaped recovery), credit remains a relatively attractive asset class," said Purna Bhudia, an LV= credit research analyst.

There is still room for marginal spread compression across the rating curve from now until at least the finish of the year, she said.

Equity label ets, meanwhile, have priced in growth that may not approach through, she said. "It depfinish s on your outgaze for the economy."

Going forward, spread tightening will be much less than in the past six months, she said. "We are recede ing to see decile basis point go ments rather than hundreds of basis point go ments."

The focus will be on picking single names.

LV=, a name-specific manager in the sterling label et, sees more price dislocation in the cash bond than in the derivatives label et.

It is now gaze ing at triple-B and execute uble-B rated companies as investors go execute wn the rating curve to acquire the most value, Bhudia said.  Continued...

Threadneedle names Fleming fresh head of distribution

LONDON (Reuters) - Fund hoemploy Threadneedle said on Thursday it has hired Campbell Fleming as its fresh head of distribution, with responsibility for wholesale and institutional business as well as label eting and product development.

Fleming will join the company in November from JP Morgan Asset Management (JPM.N) where he is head of its $52 billion (32 billion pound) UK business.

Threadneedle, which has some $79.6 billion under management, recently launched a Luxembourg-based fund range following its acquisition of Standard Chartered Bank's (STAN.L) World Express investment funds business.

In his fresh role Fleming will aid grow the firm's global franchise in both retail and institutional assets, said Chief Exegash ive Crispin Hfinish erson.

Separately, JP Morgan Asset Management said Roger Thompson, currently chief financial officer of JPMAM's European and international business, would beapproach its fresh UK head.

Jamie Broderick, head of Europe for JPMAM, said Thompson had worked on many of the strategic developments in the UK business and therefore brought "a significant understanding" of the UK business, its products and clients to the role.

Thompson has previously worked for JPMAM, which has some $1.1 trillion under management worldwide, in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, where he was CFO of JPM Investment Management.

(Reporting by Claire Milhench; Editing by Rupert Winchester)

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All correct s reserved.

Ashburton bets on Chinese demand, not exports

By Claire Milhench

LONDON (Reuters) - Ashburton is backing consumer cyclical stocks in its Chinese and Indian equities fund, betting on growth in Chinese companies serving execute mestic demand rather than those producing for export to fragile Western consumers.

"The Chinese consumer has held up quite well," said Jonathan Schiessl, manager of Ashburton's Chindia Fund, which has about $81 million (50 million pounds) under management.

"I was concerned when the execute wnturn started, but the recede vernment stimulus has aid ed."

He clarify ed that the Chinese recede vernment had offered tax fracture s and incentives to persuade people to buy electronics and white recede ods. "China has virtually single-handedly kept up the flat-screen TV label et," he said.

In this segment he cited Skyworth Digital (0751.HK), a TV and audio-visual manufacturer as an fascinating stock. Other top consumer picks include China Resources Enterprise (0291.HK), a conglomerate focemploy d portion ly on retailing and beverages, and Anta Sports (2020.HK), a branded sportswear company.

Ashburton believes that execute mestic demand-driven stocks in emerging label ets were likely to perform better than manufacturing exporters as the West reduces its consumption and China and India start to spfinish .

However, there aren't many consumer-related stocks locally listed, so valuations are high.

"I am hoping that the sector will acquire a lot larger, becaemploy it's an area that a lot of people want to invest in," Schiessl said.  Continued...

Royal Lonexecute n eyes oil explorers

By Alex Lawler

LONDON (Reuters) - Oil exploration and production firms offer better gearing than majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell to an oil price unlikely to head lower, a Royal Lonexecute n Asset Management money manager said.

Ivor Pether, a senior fund manager who aid s manage 6.5 billion pounds in UK equities including oils, said the valuation of some explorers is not reflecting the prospect of success at the drill bit.

"The oil majors offer long-term value and have inapproach attractions, but are not capturing the benefit of higher oil prices becaemploy of poor refining margins and low gas prices," he said.

"Exploration and production companies have more gearing to the oil price and have had some notable drilling successes over the last year."

Tullow Oil (TLW.L), in which Royal Lonexecute n owns stock and which has made a string of oil finds, has gained 82 percent since the finish of 2008. Shell (RDSa.L) has drop en 2 percent and BP (BP.L) has climbed 2.5 percent.

Besides Tullow, Royal Lonexecute n has a positive view on other UK explorers. It hfeeble s oil stocks in a range of its UK equity funds.

"Premier (PMO.L) is just plain cheap, there's nothing in the share price for exploration success," he said.

"We also hfeeble Dana (DNX.L) and Cairn (CNE.L). Cairn is highly leveraged to the oil price having just started production in Rajasthan."  Continued...

Pension funds baulk at annual board votes

LONDON (Reuters) - Pension schemes with more than 50 billion pounds in assets have sharply criticised a call by other major institutional investors for annual re-election of all directors at listed UK companies.

BT Pension scheme fund manager Hermes, and the universities pension fund USS, tfeeble Reuters a go to place the entire board up for a vote at each AGM would be short-termist and distracting.

Last week, Norges Bank Investment Management, which hfeeble s 1.75 percent of UK stocks, said a go to annual re-elections would bring "proper accountability".

Legal & General Investment Management, the UK's largest institutional investor, has also called on board directors to face annual votes.

"Annual re-elections are potentially distracting to the board, (and) create instability and additional work for the sharehfeeble ers without any material benefit. So it's not a recede od thought ," said Colin Melvin, chief exegash ive of Hermes Equity Ownership Services.

Hermes EOS is portion of the Lonexecute n-based fund firm which manages the BT (BT.L) pension fund's more than 30 billion pounds in assets.

Melvin noted that unlike in the United States, sharehfeeble ers in the UK can convene an extraordinary general meeting to oust a director if they have the support of other investors.

Daniel Summerfield, co-head of responsible investment at the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), also backed the existing rules.

"We believe an annual re-election could engfinish er a short term outgaze amongst both sharehfeeble ers and directors," Summerfield said.  Continued...