ARTEMIS THE HUNTED

Although U.S. fund manager Federated Investments is said to be frontrunner to acquire Artemis, the Edinburgh-based fund manager which has been put up for sale by Fortis, fund managers here believe that a management buyout with a major US private equity firm - along the lines of Jupiter's MBO with TA - seems more likely.

There are rumours that a Scottish fund manager is also keen to acquire Artemis. At a price tag of $1.5 billion, a decision is expected within weeks.

Jupiter's CEO Edward Bonham-Carter had said last year that his deal with TA would be a precursor to other big deals in the market. But with the drying up of liquidity, these kind of transactions have also vanished. If an Artemis-led MBO does materialise, perhaps it is a sign that markets are beginning to show some signs of normality?

PAWNS IN THE GAME

Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov had some words of investment advice for managers at the Fund Forum lured by the charms of Moscow: "If you want to invest in KGB Incorporated, you should remember that they are very active managers. State profits are privatised, while private expenses are nationalised."

Responding to a question about Russia's rapidly growing emerging economy, Kasparov - who has been been in jail for protests against the current regime - said: "One of the nice things that I can say about Putin is that he is a good magician. He has created a bunch of illusions that would make David Copperfield look like an amateur."

And the key, he said, to surviving the credit crisis is to be adaptable: "You can't outrun the bear market, but you can outrun the other investors."

THE FILE

For the completists, all the story links from the Fund Forum so far:

FUND FORUM Schroders lines up farming fund for institutions

FUND FORUM Jupiter AM seeks growth opportunities through tie-ups

FUND FORUM JP Morgan AM mulls launch of Asia infrastructure fund

FUND FORUM Aberdeen CEO says 'benign' hedge funds have no urge to take reins

FUND FORUM Chief executives disagree on next stop for credit crisis

FUND FORUM UK Personal Accounts will 'probably' have SRI fund

SCHOOL'S OUT

One lesser known fact about Paul Myners is that the fund management guru has a degree in education and began his career teaching at a girls' school.

Myners says in his biog: "After qualifying as a school teacher I was employed by the Inner London Education Authority. This was a mistake for both of us. After two years I opted for the safety of business journalism with the Daily Telegraph and then moved on to the investment bank N M Rothschild & Sons and the investment manager, Gartmore."

One fund manager, who has known Myners for the past 25 years, reckons the stern school master has never quite departed, and even draws some comparisons with the 'boisterous' management approach of former Sun editor Kelvin Mackenzie.

He also adds an interesting footnote on the City grandee: "I have seen Paul's CV change over the years. When he started out at Gartmore, it said he loved football. By the time he'd left Gartmore, this had had changed to how much he adored the opera."

FUND FORUM UK Personal Accounts will 'probably' have SRI fund

BY JOVE!

The Forum can be admirably scabrous at times - Jupiter chief executive Edward Bonham-Carter found that out after a very uncomfortable 30 minutes of probing questions from City grandee Paul Myners.

The fund management guru - who has spent two years as a business journalist with the Daily Telegraph - showed no mercy for the hapless Bonham-Carter who was grilled on a range of issues; from Jupiter's MBO with TA last year, to his view on the markets.

Myners chastised Bonham-Carter on the "narrowness of Jupiter's structure", which predominantly offers only long-only equities to retail clients, and its "static model" which currently makes it difficult for Bonham-Carter's successor to earn as much as he does.

Jupiter has never revealed how much TA acquired through the MBO - but Myners dropped the 40 percent very casually into another of his rapier sharp questions.

He even cajoled the usually self-assured Bonham-Carter to admit that he would fire himself from the running of his fund by next year if a spell of poor performance continued.

Bonham-Carter later wryly admitted he had been ambushed, and that Myners had not given him any inkling of what lay in store for him. It will be a toss up whether Bonham-Carter would rather fire himself right now, or allow himself to be interviewed by Myners again.

SWFS KEEP MUM

Much has been made of the role sovereign wealth funds might play in the future of the fund management industry; their representatives will be some of the most popular delegates should they happen upon any of the Fund Forum's many networking events.

In fact, it looks like a bit of doorstepping is the only way managers will hear the thoughts of the new power brokers on the investment scene.

Word is that officials from the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority - which controls around $1 trillion in assets - were offered the moon on a stick (well... free entry to the conference at least) in return for taking a podium spot for a panel session. They refused... preferring to shell out the £5k or so from petty cash for the luxury of remaining relatively incognito.

Perhaps today's debate on the myths and realities surrounding the state run funds will rouse them to their feet?

MENA MAXED OUT

Easily one of the most recognisable family names on the planet, the Bin Ladens also have a compelling position from which to assess prospects in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

While the black sheep of the family might have a unique ability to influence the global macroeconomic mood, the 'other' Bin Ladens boast an intimate knowledge of their immediate sphere of influence. Aside from the family connections with Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Lebanon, the group runs one of the biggest construction firms in the region.

Forum delegate Rod Ringrow - a senior vice president at State Street and responsible for the bank's activities in the Middle East and Africa - has revealed the family considers the only real investment opportunities in the space are Syria and Libya. Everywhere else in the region has "maxed out," they believe.

He also notes that family is wrestling with the challenge posed by the growing dominance of Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds that are urgently looking to deploy their assets outside domestic markets.