OOB met up with the regional head of UIP again today - they have been talking for a couple of years now. They're now ready to unveil their own film fund with the backing of the Singapore government's EDB (as OOB have)and partners like Paramount, Universal and MTV.

They would very much like our Fund to co-finance a slate of pictures they'll be producing with their fund, and they in turn may pass on some investors to us. This will bring us some very big brand names to add to our roster and will continue our plans to diversify the partners we work with in the Fund - along the lines of our existing deal with PME. It won't be such a big deal, they're estimating a total fund of only US$ 20 million. However, it should give us some more product and cash flow down the line, as well as great brand names to sell as we market the fund. TEPs FUNDS - DIVERSIFIED LOW RISK INVESTING

One year ago, with stock markets having been in decline for 18 months, many of us were hoping that things couldn't get worse. Then suddenly, they did. The tragic events of September 11th, 2001 sparked a sharp drop in stock values. There was a brief period of recovery, but a poor run of corporate results followed by highly publicized accounting scandals brought the markets still further down. The 3rd quarter profits forecast season is now upon us and downgrades substantially outnumber upgrades. Take this together with the threat of a new Gulf War, the prospect for stock markets is, at best, uncertain.

Investors have been increasingly looking towards forms of investment, which offer more reliable returns. TEPs (Traded Endowment Policies) funds offer an excellent alternative.

Endowment policies invest in with-profits funds, a particularly secure form of investment that holds assets such as bonds and property in addition to equities. In years of very strong performance, some of the excess is held in reserve and used to top-up the fund in poor years. This gives a smoothed investment return, typically in the range of 7 to 10% per annum. These policies are managed by large UK Life Insurance Companies with international reputations, giving the investor considerable confidence. This form of investment is extremely common in the UK, being used for retirement planning, mortgage repayment and other long-term savings objectives.

Occasionally, an investor may wish to cash in his policy before maturity, resulting in encashment penalties. A much better return can be obtained by selling the policy in the thriving Traded Endowment Market. The seller gets a better price, the buyer gets a secure investment at a discount.

It is entirely possible for the individual investor to purchase TEPs. However, there are difficulties. Which company is most secure? Which company is likely to produce the best most consistent returns? What maturity date to choose? The ideal solution is to buy a number of different TEPs to gain the benefits of diversification - 10 to 20 TEPs from different providers should solve some of the above problems. However, with the average price of a TEP in 2000 being GBP 13,000, multiple policies are beyond the reach of the average investor.

The answer lies in investing into a TEP fund. Here, your money is pooled with many other investors into a mutual fund managed by a professional TEPs manager. Thus the benefits of diversification are achieved - the manager researches the Life companies for security and performance and chooses TEPs with a range of maturity dates. This concept has been so successful that some TEPs funds are oversubscribed and closed to new investors.

This asset class has remained strong in comparison with other forms of investment. TEPs funds are viewed as low risk with the potential for better returns than other low risk investments. They provide a solution for clients seeking to diversify, reduce their risk profile, or protect the return across their portfolio.