United States-based value manager WP Stewart & Co plans to set up shop in London to tap into the opportunities within the pan-European markets.

Trading as WP Stewart Global Management, it expects to be able to start its operation in the first quarter, and has already made some significant hires. The firm backs up its stock pickings by five-year investment projections and it concentrates its firepower on around 40 enterprises, all led by global market leaders. Value investing is currently out of vogue. But WP Stewart & Co seeks to achieve an average return of 15% a year and has easily exceeded this target over the last 25 years. The firm is presently using a third-party marketing company, TPR & Partners in Amsterdam, for the Dutch market and this relationship will continue. The decision of yet another US firm to establish itself in London, hard on the heels of Sanford C Bernstein, shows that it is not losing its status, although additional representation elsewhere brings the best local results. Serious US players, led by Fidelity, have now become well-established, but Americans generally feel that their initial progress is far slower than their performance deserves. Vanguard's brand name, for example, has yet to lift off in Europe in the same way as it has in the US. But it has made some in-roads and recently hired Henk Beets from Henderson as assistant marketing director for Europe, based in Brussels, to make European investors aware of the firm. Janus is also making in-roads, following some incredibly strong performance numbers. Fiduciary Trust, which runs $46bn (E45bn) worldwide, is also seeking to build its bridgehead, encouraged by recent institutional gains. It is beefing up its operations in the UK and is expected to hire a marketer shortly, said David Smart, managing director. The firm is also expected to launch further equity products, such as a global equity fund, for the UK market, he said. Fiduciary Trust is mainly known for its fixed income expertise in Europe but wishes to bring all its knowledge out. Globally the firm has approximately a 50-50 weighting between equities and bonds. It has recently launched two wholesale pooled funds in Australia. The funds, a global equity and a global property fund, are aimed at both institutional and retail investors. The firm is also expected to launch mid-cap products in the US, Smart said. However, the firm hopes the European high-yield market will take off this year. "There are several European pension funds eyeing these type of products,' Smart said.