Pressure on Dye as PDFM slumps down league table

Tony Dye, who has bet billions of pounds of clients' money on expectations of a stock market crash, is coming under increasing pressure. Fresh figures show that PDFM, at which he is lead fund manager, has slumped from first to 15th in industry league tables for net new business won in 1996.

The tables, compiled by Global Money Management (GMM), a specialist newsletter, reveal PDFM won just pounds 62m net of new business in 1996.

PDFM's place at the top of the league has been claimed by Morgan Grenfell Asset Management despite the Peter Young fiasco in September.

However, GMM said that Morgan, which rose from fourth place in 1995, may have difficulty maintaining pole position this year. Morgan, fresh from dealing with the financial mess left behind by Mr Young, is having to reassure clients that the ongoing row over Nicola Horlick will not affect its performance.

The table is calculated by aggregating institutional accounts won and lost by fund management groups during the year as reported in the newsletter. Deals which are not confirmed are not included in the tables.

GMM said the tables did not include the large mandates believed to have been awarded by Equitas, the rescue vehicle for the Lloyd's of London insurance market, to Barclays Global Investors, Prudential Portfolio Managers, PDFM and Mercury.

MGAM gained almost pounds 1bn net of institutional business during 1996, according to GMM. But it said the fund management group had won no key mandates since September when Mr Young's trading irregularities were uncovered.

Second place in the table went to Du Pont Capital Management with a net gain of pounds 425m and MeesPierson was third with a net gain of pounds 361m.