Yield-Starved Pension Funds Pile into Junk According to Informa PSN Market Analyst Report for 1Q11

Informa Investment Solutions today released its PSN 1Q11 Market Analyst Report, which provides in-depth analysis of institutional investment products, peer groups, asset management firms and market place level data. The report shows heavy flows away from European equities and into high-yeild debt.

White Plains, NY, May 28, 2011 -- Informa Investment Solutions, a division of Informa plc (LSE: INF) today released the 1Q11 Market Analyst, including the joint TrimTabs PSN Institutional Flows Report. The report provides in-depth analysis of institutional investment products, peer groups known as universes, asset management firms and market place level data.

Designed by and for securities analysts, plan sponsors and senior executives from a number of successful asset management shops, the PSN Market Analyst enables financial officers to quickly identify assets at risk and forecast revenue. “Product development and marketing professionals can now see the concentration of assets, and recognize key competitive threats,” according to Elizabeth Wetherbee, Senior Vice President, Informa Investment Solutions. “Subscribers can see who they’re up against and recognize when a shift in their approach is necessary to attract and retain investors.”

Major Asset Classes ranked by MRQ Flow ($B), Prev Qtr Flow ($B) and Market Share %

Gl Fixed 17.53 8.64 1.92
Intl/Gl Bal 8.34 6.26 0.52
Intl Fixed 4.96 13.04 1.02
US Bal -0.83 -3.80 0.40
US Fixed -8.54 -21.32 15.75
Gl Equity -9.18 -11.71 2.32
US Equity -13.26 -53.93 11.79
Intl Equity -18.15 0.89 5.37

1Q11 Market Analyst showcases strategies with top assets, flows, performance and growth for each of 48 universes, and ranks 100 firms with highest cash flows into their institutional separate account composites. Based on strategies reported into PSN, the ten top selling asset managers for the first quarter are as follows:

Top Firms Ranked by MRQ Institutional Flows ($B) and Market Share %

Pacific Investment Mgmnt Co (ALV.DE) 16.11 24.92
Mellon Capital Management (BK:US) 8.52 2.54
Franklin Templeton Investments (BEN:US) 7.78 6.46
NISA 4.15 1.06
Neuberger Berman 3.48 2.58
Federated (FED:US) 3.38 3.48
Amundi 3.28 0.12
Winslow 3.20 0.45
ING (ING:US; INGA:EURO) 3.18 0.84
Eaton Vance Management (EVM) 3.16 1.77

Informa Investment Solutions provides TrimTabs Investment Research with its PSN Market Analyst Data with a complete breakdown of the PSN universes. “This specificity,” states Vincent Deluard, CFA, Executive Vice President of Research with TrimTabs, “enables us to track trading in detail and understand tactical shifts in asset allocation. The most noteworthy trend in 1Q11 is the extreme popularity of high yield debt. High Yield Fixed Income accounts raked in approximately 4% of assets, as did International Emerging Markets Debt accounts, last quarter’s top selling category.”

“Why would “savvy” investors pile into junk even though yields sit at a record low? ” Continued Mr. Deluard, “Accounting rules for pension plans provide a good explanation. Companies are allowed to use the expected return on plan assets to discount future liabilities. The higher the yield, the lower the present value of future payments. Shifting to junk from Treasuries therefore turns a deficit into a surplus magically.”

TrimTabs PSN Institutional Flows Report Key Findings include:

* Yield-Starved Pension Funds Pile into Junk.
* European Equity Accounts Post Heavy Outflow.
* High Yield Space Most Overbought.

Market Neutral (11% of assets) and European Equity (4.2% of assets) accounts posted the heaviest outflows in 1Q11. Concern about the debt crisis in Europe probably scared investors in January, which means they missed the euro rally.

Flow data for the past nine quarters indicates that the high yield space is overbought, according to the joint TrimTabs PSN report. Emerging Markets Debt, High Yield Intermediate, and High Yield Fixed Income accounts have raked in a hefty $127 billion (25% of assets) since the start of 2009. TrimTabs suggests investors should avoid that space since research shows that the most loved (bought) strategies tend to underperform in the following quarters.

Moody’s reports that the average speculative grade (junk) bond yield sank to a record low of 6.65% on May 11.

About Informa Investment Solutions, Inc.
Informa Investment Solutions (Informa), a leading provider of software and services to financial institutions and investment professionals, and has delivered customized systems to enhance our client relationships. For over 30 years, Informa has supplied valuable data and offered custom tailored solutions to brokerages, money management firms, investment consultants, independent advisors and pension plan sponsors. Armed with over three decades of experience, Informa has the unique ability to create sophisticated tools and customized products, along with an unrivaled capacity to supply valuable data and support services. Informa is a consistent market leader throughout the investment community. IIS, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LSE: INF), serves more than 1,500 clients with our PSN database of over 2,000 investment management firms and 12,000 products worldwide. For more information on Informa Investment Solutions, visit www.informais.com.

About TrimTabs Investment Research
TrimTabs Investment Research is the only independent research service that publishes detailed daily coverage of U.S. stock market liquidity--including mutual fund flows and exchange-traded fund flows--as well as weekly withheld income and employment tax collections. Founded by Charles Biderman, TrimTabs has provided institutional investors with trading strategies since 1990. For more information, please visit www.trimtabs.com.

TrimTabs Investment Research is the only independent research service that publishes detailed daily coverage of U.S. stock market liquidity--including mutual fund flows and exchange-traded fund flows--as well as weekly withheld income and employment tax collections.

Contact:
Shonna Keogan
Informa Investment Solutions
4 Gannett Plaza
White Plains, NY 10604
914-509-1592
shonna.keogan@informais.com
http://www.informais.com

This release was published on openPR.