The Origins of Asset Management from 1700 to 1960 (eBook)

Nigel Edward Morecroft is a former asset management professional having spent most of his working life in institutional asset management. Previous appointments have included Partner at Baillie Gifford & Co. and Director at Foreign & Colonial Asset Management, having started his career at Wood Mackenzie & Co. Typically in his capacity as a trustee, Nigel currently applies his extensive experience in investments to a number of charities including the Charities Official Investment Funds (COIF) where he is a Director. He is also a Trustee and Member of the University Court at the University of St Andrews, UK.

The Origins of Asset Management from 1700 to 1960 4
Acknowledgements 6
Contents 9
List of Figures 13
List of Tables 14
1 Introduction and Overview 15
Bibliography (Restricted) 25
Books 25
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 25
2 Markets and Insurance Company Investments, 1700–1900 26
2.1 Money and Markets After 1700 29
2.1.1 The East India Company and Others 30
2.1.2 The Bank of England and Government Borrowing 33
2.1.3 Ownership and Management by Stockholders 36
2.1.4 Equity Markets and Ordinary Shares in the Nineteenth Century 38
2.2 Insurance Companies and Their Investments 39
2.2.1 The Growth of Insurance Companies 39
2.2.2 The Dawn of Institutional Investment: A Portfolio from 1734 44
2.2.3 The Need for Capital and a Changing World of Investment 48
Urbanisation 51
Industrialisation 53
Internationalisation 54
2.2.4 Actuaries and Investment 56
2.2.5 The Pelican Life Office: The First Asset Management Company? 59
2.3 Summary 63
Bibliography 65
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites etc. 66
3 Philip Rose and the First Investment Company, 1868–1883 68
3.1 Philip Rose 72
3.2 Foreign & Colonial
3.2.1 Foreign & Colonial Portfolio in 1868
3.2.2 Structure of the Investment Company and the Lottery 94
3.2.3 Investment Performance 101
3.3 Concluding Remarks 107
Bibliography 112
Primary Sources 112
Books 112
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 113
4 Robert Fleming and Scottish Asset Management, 1873–1890 115
4.1 Fleming and the Scottish American Investment Trust (the ‘First Scottish’) 117
4.2 America 123
4.3 Scotland 126
4.4 The Power of Information: The First Scottish 134
4.5 Investment Performance: The First Scottish 147
4.6 Concluding Remarks 150
Bibliography 152
Primary Sources 152
Books 152
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 153
5 Life Office Investment 1900–1960 and John Maynard Keynes 155
5.1 1900–1920: Change but No Change 156
5.1.1 Life Office Investment: 1900–1920 156
5.1.2 Keynes’ Early Investments: 1905–1920 161
5.2 1921–1938: Ordinary Shares and Professionalisation of Asset Management 165
5.2.1 Keynes in Context 165
5.2.2 Keynes, Raynes and Ordinary Shares 167
5.2.3 Keynes and the National Mutual Life Assurance Society 173
5.2.4 Life Office Investments 1921–1938 183
5.3 1939–1960: All Change 191
5.4 Keynes’ Influence 193
Bibliography 198
Primary Sources 198
Books 199
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 200
6 Keynes – Flawed Investor or Genius? 202
6.1 The Flawed Investor – The Independent Investment Company 205
6.2 Investment Success – The Discretionary Fund, Kings College, Cambridge 215
6.3 Investment Insights 225
6.4 Concluding Remarks 227
Bibliography 228
Primary Sources 228
Books 229
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 229
7 George Booth and Ian Fairbairn: The First Unit Trusts, 1931–1960 231
7.1 US Mutual Funds: A Different Landscape 233
7.2 Municipal and General, Booth and Fairbairn 239
7.2.1 Municipal and General Securities 239
7.2.2 Booth and Fairbairn 244
7.3 The First British Fixed Trust 248
7.4 Unit Trusts in the 1930s 255
7.5 Investment Performance 267
7.6 Unit Trusts After 1951 269
7.7 Concluding Remarks 271
Annex: The Esmée Fairbairn Foundation 273
Bibliography 277
Primary Sources 277
Books 277
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 278
8 George Ross Goobey, Revolutionising Pension Fund Investment, 1947–1960 279
8.1 The First British Pension Funds and Rowntree 286
8.2 Ross Goobey and the Imperial Tobacco Pension Fund 291
8.3 Ross Goobey’s Investment Beliefs 303
8.4 Contribution 314
Bibliography 316
Primary Sources 316
Books 316
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 317
9 Observations from the Past 319
9.1 Investment Observations 321
9.1.1 Portfolio Construction 321
9.1.2 Time 324
9.1.3 Income 326
9.1.4 Benchmarks 327
9.2 General Observations About Asset Management 328
9.2.1 People, Culture and Longevity 328
9.2.2 Social Usefulness 332
9.3 Concluding Remarks 336
Bibliography 338
Primary Sources 338
Books 338
Articles, Journals, Pamphlets, Websites, etc. 338
Index 339