Empresaria chief’s impressive buy

Recruitment company Empresaria had something of an annus horriblis last year as its operations in Germany were hauled through the courts, the founder and chief executive Miles Hunt announced his shock departure, and the shares lost over 60 per cent of their value. As the company regroups for 2012 things seemed to have turned a corner, or at the very least it didn’t get demonstrably worse.

Revenues and net fee income (NFI) were flat for the full year as 19 and 5 per cent growth in the rest of the world and the UK respectively offset a 10 per cent NFI decline in continental Europe. Pre-tax profits slumped 71 per cent to £1.9m, but crucially the exceptional charge for the German court case was reduced from £3m at the half year to £1.7m as greater clarity on the exposure was achieved.

This was enough to persuade chairman Anthony Martin to buy 342,500 shares at an average price of 28.9p a share.

John Ficenec

First State looks first class

With the debate over bankers' bonuses raging, asset manager remuneration models have also come under fire. But there are some companies that get it right. First State computes fund managers’ bonuses on performance over three and five years rather than one year. It also requires the major part of any such bonuses to be invested in a composite of team-managed funds for three years before managers are entitled to them.

With the majority of First State managers’ personal wealth invested in the fund(s) they manage, these individuals’ incentivisation is aligned with the interests of clients. But the managers also invest in each other's funds – last week Martin Lau, manager of the successful First State Greater China Funds bought 170,000 shares in his colleague David Gait’s Pacific Assets Trust , worth 0.21 per cent of the total. Both managers sit on First State’s 28-strong emerging market equity team but while Mr Lau is based in Hong Kong, Mr Gait has just returned to his base in Edinburgh after spending a year and a half in First State’s Sydney offices.

First State Investment received the mandate for the investment trust in July 2010, taking it over from F&C after a disappointing performance. Mr Gait overhauled the fund’s portfolio to align it with his open-ended Asia Pacific unit trust which seeks quality management teams that aim to take advantages of the changes happening in the region.

Since First State’s appointment as investment manager to the end of March 2012 the fund’s net asset value is up 12.3 per cent while the share price increased by 13.4 per cent. This beats the fund’s benchmark index, the MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan’s return of 9.9 per cent but still lags the peer group average return of 16.3 per cent.

Maike Currie

Robbins attracted by high yield

Meanwhile Ms Winifred Robbins, a director on the board of investment company, City Merchants High Yield Trust has purchased shares in the trust worth 0.26 per cent of the fund. Ms Robbins was appointed to the board in December 2011. The fund, which is managed by Invesco Perpetual star managers’ Paul Causer and Paul Read seeks high income and capital growth from investing in high-yielding fixed-interest securities. It boasts an attractive dividend yield of 6.2 per cent.

Maike Currie

Director buys

Director sells

Table compiled by Robert Ansted.

Key to abbreviations: ch = chairman; ce = chief executive; cfo = chief financial officer; fd = finance director; coo = chief operating officer; cs =company secretary; md = managing director

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