REGULARS
I have advocated these two funds in the past but have no hesitation in recommending them again, especially for sterling investors looking for exceptional returns from relatively low risk funds.
Brandeaux’s Ground Rent Income fund is a legend in the industry. Now in its 12th successful year the long term performance speaks for itself and has well exceeded its target rate of return of +8 per cent to +10 per cent over the latest twelve months, The fund follows investment objectives and a strategy which have proven to deliver long term positive returns with low volatility.
The fund focuses on the ownership of ground rents and well located residential properties, which have secure income, and reversionary value, which is the increasing capital value as a result of the approaching date after which a leaseholder looses the right to occupy the property. This long-term performance demonstrates the success of the investment strategy and sets Ground Rent Income Fund in a class of its own.
TOTAL RETURN TO 31/07/07
Latest 12 Months +12.03%
3 Years +32.44%
5 Years +54.40%
(See chart one)
The main objectives of the fund in addition to an annualized return of between 8 to 10 per cent is to invest in UK ground rents and residential properties which are expected to provide capital appreciation through reversionary value: to provide investors with access to an actively managed fund holding assets with little correlation to traditional asset classes and providing long term positive returns through a combination of capital appreciation and secure rental income.
The fund invests in a portfolio of over 20,000 ground rent and reversionary properties located throughout the UK with geographic emphasis on Central London. There is a concentration of value in the affluent London locations of Chelsea, Knightsbridge, Kensington and Mayfair. The properties are focused on freeholds producing an increasing value towards revision date, which provides the backbone of the low volatility consistent performance.
The second fund is the Brandeaux Student Accommodation Fund. Now in its 8th successful year, it has well exceeded its target rate of return of 8 to 10 percent over the last twelve months.
Brandeaux have built a well balanced national portfolio covering 13 cities in the top 20 university markets with 10,000 beds in 30 purpose built residences, mainly at the premium end of the market.
54% of total rents are secured under university nomination agreements, which ensure continuing high occupancy. It is marketed and managed under the “Liberty Living” brand name.
TOTAL RETURNS TO 31/07/07
Latest 12 months 11.05%
3 Years 32.64%
5 years 55.28%
(See chart two)
The demand for student accommodation is driven by the continuing increase in the number of students in higher education and the attraction of the UK as a leading destination for international students. Sector growth and thus the fund performance is not correlated to the UK economic cycle or to the general UK property market. Among the many advantages of this fund are annual rent increases, low bad debt under 1%, high occupancy-typically 98%, Contracts with the university or direct-let to students, increasing number of overseas students; many demand premium accommodation. In most UK cities demand for quality student’s accommodation far exceeds supply.
Again the main objectives of the fund in addition to delivering 8 to 10 per cent annually, is to invest in student and key worker accommodation throughout the UK, to provide investors to an actively managed fund holding assets with little correlation to traditional asset classes and to provide positive returns through a combination of secure income and capital appreciation arising from increasing rental values.
As already stated I have been a great advocate for these funds over the years. If any reader know a better returning fund at such a low risk and such great returns over the years please let me know about it Appreciate your comments to jerry@swissinvestcenter.net
dGeek
This month we present you with our second look at some of the options open to you in the mobile market.
Samsung U600
The U600 is the slimmest slide phone ever, measuring an astonishing 10.9mm thickness. Yet it’s a high-spec phone featuring a fully featured music player with expandable memory to replace your MP3 player. The only thing that may put some people off is the touch sensitive buttons - but sometimes you have to suffer a little to look good!
Most of all, the U600 works as a lightweight, ultra-slim, look-at-me, sexy-slider kind of phone. It’s got the 3 megapixel camera and the music player to back up the looks too. The phone isn’t as user friendly as it could have been without the touch-sensitive buttons.
Typical price: 14,500 Baht
Nokia 7500 Prism
Try to look at the design of this phone, it is really an unusual fashion phone with triangular keys. This candy features avant-garde and outstanding design. The unique creative details vividly decorated with fresh colour theme. Weighing only 82 gram, the 7500 Prism fixes really well in your bare hand. It is light and giving you no burden while carrying it in the pocket or on the hand. The 7500 Prism is a 2G handset with EDGE and GPRS data, a 2 inches 262K colors, 240×320 pixels display, FM radio and also the media player. Another highlighted feature is the 2 Megapixels autofocus camera. It gives you the clear images and also the perfect video. The user can tune into their favourite FM radio station and relax to their favourite style of music. In a nutshell, concise fashion and the beauty leak make the phone attractive and give everyone the great fashion sense. The well-known appearance offers you a great spot on the fashion stage, no matter where you are.
Typical price: 8,000 Baht
Nokia 5300 XpressMusic
The Nokia 5300 XpressMusic is one of the very first phones in Nokia’s new XpressMusic range, which is clearly intended to rival Sony Ericsson’s Walkman range of phones. It will appeal to Nokia fans who might have been tempted to defect to Sony Ericsson. The 5300 XpressMusic is in some ways quite different to the SE Walkman range, but as a music phone it holds its own. The Nokia 5200 is almost the same as the 5300 XpressMusic, with some features missing, so you could consider it as an alternative if the budget is tight. One thing to note is that quite a few users have reported that their 5300 broke easily, and it does seem that there is not much protection - for the screen especially. If you buy this phone, make sure that you treat it carefully if you want it to last! We look forward to more XpressMusic phones in the future.
Typical price: 7,000 Baht
LG ke850 Prada
Normally when a phone looks this good, the other functions tend to let it down. But with the Prada, it doesn’t just look nice, it does all the tech stuff too. Nice to know when you’re spending £400 on a phone! We’re going to rush this bit, because the tech stuff is probably not what most Prada users need to know. Here goes: 2 megapixel camera with flash - not the best ever, but good enough for snapping friends in restaurants (or wherever owners of Prada phones hang out); music player; FM radio; email with support for MS Office attachments; microSD memory card (expandable to 1 Gybte); Bluetooth & USB connectivity; EDGE data transfer. Nothing significant missing. Battery life is slightly less than average (probably due to powering the huge screen!)
In conclusion, the LG Prada fulfils its role as a high-fashion accessory for those with enough disposable income to distance themselves from the Chav crowd. It does everything you’d want (and more too), it is very gadgetry but without being nerdy, and it probably won’t annoy you too much with its touch screen unless you’re very impatient. In which case, you probably didn’t read to the end of this review anyway.
Typical price: 18,500 Baht
Arts & Culture
Sir Norman Foster is the second in our series of world renowned architects. In keeping with our theme this month of environmental awareness, Sir Norman Foster is known for integrating environmental aspects into his recent concepts.
He might be best known to you as the designer of the new Wembley Stadium, or perhaps you have passed through Hong Kong or Stanstead (London) airport, more of his designs.
Norman Robert Foster was born on 1 June 1935 in Reddish, Stockport, England, to a working-class family. He was naturally gifted and performed well at school and took an interest in architecture, particularly in the works of Frank Lloyd Wright and Le Corbusier.
Leaving school at 16, he worked in the Manchester City Treasurer’s office before joining National Service in the Royal Air Force. After he was discharged in 1961, Foster attended the University of Manchester’s School of Architecture and City Planning. Later, he won the Henry Fellowship to the Yale School of Architecture, where he met former business partner Richard Rogers and earned his Master’s degree. In 1962 he set up an architectural practice as Team 4, which quickly earned a reputation for high-tech industrial design.
After Team 4 went their separate ways, in 1967 Foster and Wendy Cheeseman founded Foster Associates, which later became Foster and Partners. 1968 saw the beginning of a long period of collaboration with American architect Richard Buckminster Fuller, which continued until Fuller’s death in 1983, on several projects that became catalysts in the development of an environmentally sensitive approach to design including the Samuel Beckett Theatre project.
The philosophy statement of his company Foster and Partners, which employs 500 people at studios in London, Berlin and Hong Kong, says that in recognition of architecture being a public art, each project “is sensitive to the culture and climate of its place”. It also says that architecture is generated by the material and spiritual needs of people.
Fosters design for Frankfurt’s Commerzbank uses natural ventilation for 60% of the year managing to incorporate in his design a method of fuelling the building with vegetable oils, thus reducing carbon dioxide emissions by 94%. And by eschewing traditional air conditioning (60% of the year) in favour of natural ventilation in Commerzbank, he ensured that fuel consumption was substantially cut. He said of that project: “Anything that reduces fuel consumption and cuts down on greenhouse gasses is good news.”
Fosters approach also comes into play in 30 St.Mary Axe, nicknamed “The Gherkin” whose complex facade lets in air for passive cooling and then vents it as it warms and rises.
His designs have been labelled “high-tech”, but he does not care for the term, saying: “Since Stonehenge, architects have always been at the cutting edge of technology. And you can’t separate technology from the humanistic and spiritual content of a building.” Indeed, they often exist to make his buildings as ecologically sensitive as possible.
Foster Associates’ breakthrough building in the UK was the Willis Faber & Dumas headquarters in Ipswich, from 1974. The client was a family firm insurance company that wanted to restore a sense of community to the work place. Foster created open-plan office floors, long before open-plan became the norm. In a town not over-endowed with public facilities, the roof gardens, Olympic-sized swimming pool and gymnasium greatly enhance the quality of life of the company’s 1200 employees.
Foster’s earlier designs reflected a sophisticated, machine-influenced high-tech vision. His style has since evolved into a more sublime, sharp-edged modernity.
Foster is currently involved in a dispute with the Couper Collection, a floating art museum near his London offices, regarding his plans to redevelop the area and force removal of the museum’s barges.
In January 2007, The Sunday Times reported that Foster had called in Catalyst, a corporate finance house, to find buyers for Foster and Partners. Foster does not intend to retire, but sell out his 85% plus holding in the company valued at £300M to £500M.
Norman Foster (Sir) was knighted in 1990 and appointed to the Order of Merit in 1997. In 1999, he was created a life peer, as Baron Foster of Thames Bank, of Reddish in the County of Greater Manchester. He is a crossbencher.
He is the second British architect to win the Stirling Prize twice: the first for the American Hangar at the Imperial War Museum Duxford in 1998, and the second for 30 St. Mary Axe in 2004. In consideration of his whole portfolio, Foster was awarded the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1999. He is also a Fellow of the Chartered Society of Designers and winner of the Minerva Medal, the Society’s highest award.
A qualified pilot, Foster flies his own private jet and helicopter between his home above the London offices of Foster and Partners and his homes in France and Switzerland.
“Luminessence”
An exhibition of oil paintings by
Elsie Evans. 3-30 October, 2007. Elsie has lived in Asia for 20 years. She was a regular contributor to the Bangkok art scene until her departure to Jakarta in 2004. She is now back. Though she still does her acclaimed portraits there is a new zest to her work.
The paintings in ‘Luminessence’ are not about attention to detail or presenting a pretty picture of worn out views, they are about thunderous light and the resonance of silent light. The notion that light is boisterous but also has eloquence is clearly revealed. There are 2 series of paintings ‘A Temple Ordination’ and ‘The Chinatown Dragon Festival’. What links them, what unites them? Light.
In the Chinatown paintings, the onslaught of noise, colour and light is astonishing against the inky night sky. Light is powerfully provoked playing on the forms. Hundreds of shapes dance in light, invigorating and unsubtle. The challenge of creating the scenes vital movement, the essence of the mammoth noise and crashing light has been intensely put on canvas. Even the coarse scrawl paintings on the white canvases spill out the ecstatic movement of the players. We sense that the drummers and dancers are dancing straight out of the picture, they are parading past us.
In broad contrast are the paintings of the monk ordination ceremony at Wat Pak Naam in Thonburi. These 9 large images are flooded with the peace and stillness of the occasion. The light is again the inspirational catalyst for the paintings, the monks seem incidental. The contrast of the shimmering gold background of a giant Buddha against the dull orange robes of the monks is dramatic. The sensation of reflected gold has a physical element. Look down, touch your skin and see the suggestion of gold light.
Elsie will be painting at the Neilson Hays Library every Sunday during the exhibition from 12 to 4pm. Come along and see her in action. Or she paints every day at her Studio on Sukhumvit soi 49/11. Anyone is welcome. (Phone first she might be running a workshop. Tel 08 3301 1314)
The Rotunda Gallery is at the Neilson Hays Library, 195 Surawong Road, Bangkok (Tel. 02-233 1731) and it’s opening hours are: Tuesday-Sunday 9.30 am - 5.00 pm
Useful Telephone Numbers for Hua Hin
Railway station
032-512 770, 032-511 073
Bus station of Hua Hin
032-511 654, 032-512 543
Bus station of Prachuabkirikhan
032-601 901
Bus station of Pranburi
032-621 443
Hua Hin Hospital
032-520 401
Dog Rescue Center
0-1981 4406
Wild life Rescue Center (Tayang)
032-458 135
Department of Land Cha-am office:
032- 430 846-7
Department of Land Hua Hin office:
032-536 164, 032-512 407
Department of Land Prachuabkirikhan:
032-611 211
Department of Land Pranburi
032-622 199
Local Government (Hua Hin)
032-521 340, 532 471
Local water supply
032-511 677
The Power Board of Hua Hin
032-512 215, 032 513 165
Observer office:
032-531 078
Red Cross.
032-512 567
San Paolo Hospital
032-532 576-85
Polyclinic International
032-516 424, 032-516 425
Shell Cooking Gas
032-511 144, 032- 515 620
The Communication Authority of Thailand
(Hua Hin)
032-511 351
Rotary Club of Hua Hin
0-1916 6637
Meeting every Thursday 8.pm
at Hua Hin Grand Hotel & Plaza
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