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Product category: Investment funds
News Release from: Gartmore | Subject: ISA
Edited by the Insidemoneytalk Editorial Team on 23 March 2007

Gartmore News in Brief

Gartmore welcomes the increase in the equity ISA investment limits announced in the Budget

Paul Feeney, Head of Distribution at Gartmore, has welcomed the Government's announcement that the annual investment limit for equity Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs) is to be increased from £7,000 to £7,200 from April 2008 Paul comments, "Although the increase is smaller than the industry had hoped, and is still a year away, the rise in the investment limit for ISAs is great news for investors as it increases the tax-free investment opportunity

"Since their launch in 1999, ISAs have proved incredibly successful, attracting 17 million people and investment of around £220 billion into cash and equities.

Equity ISAs have enjoyed a fresh surge in popularity with ?8.4bn invested into funds in 2006, the highest level in five years.

"In addition the announcement in December's Pre-Budget Report that the government won't be scrapping ISAs in 2010, as some had feared, means we can continue to build on the rising demand from consumers.

The Government is also planning a package of reforms which include removing the mini/maxi distinction, bringing PEPs into the ISA wrapper and allowing mature child trust funds to rollover into ISAs.

These changes would be a great step towards simplifying the savings industry and making it more flexible." China steps into large aircraft market Charlie Awdry, Manager of the Gartmore China Opportunities Fund, is anticipating spin-off benefits for the Chinese manufacturing sector if the government pushes ahead with its plan to inject funds into research and development for the jet airplane market.

According to a statement issued by the government, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao recently made "an important strategic decision" to move into the market, following China's wish to become a major force in aviation and aerospace expressed in a science and technology paper last year.

The Chinese financial magazine Caijing reports that seed funding of Rmb 50-60bn (£3-4bn) is planned for two main centres - Shanghai for commercial aircraft and Xian for military.

"China is due to begin deliveries of a mid-size, China-made aircraft, the ARJ21 model, in 2009.

However this is the first time that it has indicated a wider commitment to RandD for the large airplane market.

Europe's Airbus has recently identified China as the second largest potential marketplace behind the US, forecasting demand for over 2,900 large jets valued at $349bn by 2025.

"In strategic terms, the move to develop proprietary technology in the aircraft market is an important change.

It symbolises the start of a phase of industrial upgrading, where Chinese industry moves from assembly-type roles to the development of higher value-added activities, developing and incorporating its own techniques".

Gartmore Global Focus Fund posits alternatives to heavily taxed gas guzzlers While Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer, maintained his capacity to surprise in his 11th budget with a cut in income tax, some of his other proposals had been widely flagged in advance.

In what will probably be Brown's final budget, the owners of fuel-hungry cars, notably the so-called 'Chelsea tractors,' were hit by a near doubling of road taxes, as the Chancellor continued to target transport's contribution to carbon emissions.

The top band of vehicle excise duty, comprising the least fuel-efficient vehicles on UK roads, will rise from ?210 to ?300 immediately and will reach ?400 next year.

Among the stocks held by the Gartmore Global Focus Fund, managed by Neil Rogan, is Toyota and its prescient inclusion reflects 'leveraging the global information advantage,' according to Neil, "This is the process whereby global managers identify and allocate capital proactively across themes.

While the outlook for car stocks may generally be mixed, there are other factors that come into play in stock selection, including environmental considerations and their capacity to have a future impact on share prices.

Toyota, for instance, has much to commend it.

The 2009 Toyota Prius will do 100 miles per gallon and has emissions below the new European Union standards." Gartmore's Global Fund receives Lipper Award second year running We are pleased to announce that the Gartmore Worldwide Leaders Fund is the winner, for the second year running, of the Lipper Fund Awards US 2007, Global Large Cap Core Fund Award, based on 3-year fund performance.

This award recognises the continued success of Gartmore's global equity investment process based on a high alpha strategy which is unconstrained by formal benchmarks.

This allows the managers to actively manage and select only their best ideas with the Fund typically holding 30-40 stocks.

The Fund, which is sold to US investors, is managed by Citywire AA - rated Neil Rogan, Head of Global Equities along with Senior Investment Managers Ben Walker and Brian O'Neill.

It is a clone of the fund available to UK investors, the Gartmore Global Focus Fund which is AAA rated by Standard and Poor's.

The Lipper Fund Awards is a global programme that rewards funds that have delivered consistently strong risk-adjusted performance relative to their peers.

Current Offers - Extended 1) New investors into the company's investment trust ISA, the Gartmore ISAit, for the duration of the 2007 ISA season.

Initial fee of 3% will be removed from all new investments in Gartmore's investment trust ISAit and PEPit schemes Lump sum and minimum transfer value will be reduced from £3,000 to £1,000 Minimum amount for the monthly savings on ISAit will be reduced from £100 to £50 Gartmore, rather than the underlying investor, will bear the cost of commission to IFAs.

2) For the Gartmore Cautious Managed Fund, the Gartmore Global Focus Fund and the Gartmore MultiManager range of Funds, for all lump sum investments until 30th June 2007 1% discount on the initial charge 4% initial commission.

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