Barclays Wealth in talks to retrieve AIG position
Barclays Wealth has started talks with insurer AIG over finding ways to improve returns for clients following the suspension of AIG’s Premier Bond enhanced money market fund.
AIG said clients will be able to redeem half their money within weeks. But it has warned they could get less than today’s value from the rest of their stake if they choose to redeem it at the earliest opportunity, in December.
AIG will only underpin returns if clients choose to switch to a recovery fund, maturing in 2012. A spokeswoman could not confirm the potential loss.
The enhanced fund was hit by redemption requests due to financial problems at AIG, which led to its rescue by the US Government. The fund found it tough to liquidate longer-term assets to meet future withdrawals in a market starved of liquidity.
Joseph Hill, a criminal lawyer and fund investor, is putting together a lobby group. He is aggrieved that his adviser, Barclays Wealth, refused to make his plan known to other clients, after putting him into the fund in the first place.
In an e-mail correspondence, Hill was told by a Barclays adviser: “We have considered your request to circulate your contact details to other of our clients who hold AIG investments, but do not consider that to be in the interests of the wider client group.
“We continue to review this position as the situation develops.”
A Barclays spokeswoman said: “We have a dedicated team working with AIG to determine the best way to achieve the return of all funds to our clients. This team is working closely with other private banks. We are focusing our efforts on representing the interests of our clients in these discussions.
“On the question of any AIG investor action groups, we would be prepared to liaise with it in the interest of achieving resolution of this issue.
“We do not feel it is appropriate for the bank to circulate to other clients details of particular individuals who wish to form an investor action group.”
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