Equity income duo leaves Schroders
The managers of Schroder Income, Nick Purves and Ian Lance, have left the firm and will be joining RWC partners. Nick Kirrage and Kevin Murphy are taking over the fund and they will also continue managing their current charge, Schroder Recovery, which is rated Superior by Morningstar.
However, their inexperience in managing an equity income fund is a concern and the fund’s previous Superior rating has been placed under review by Morningstar analysts. The departure of Purves and Lance also has a significant impact on Schroder Income Maximiser because manager Thomas See replicates the Schroder Income portfolio before applying a covered call strategy to enhance the fund’s income. The Superior rating for Schroder Income Maximiser has also been placed under review by Morningstar analysts.
Ben Thompson departs Baillie Gifford
Ben Thompson, manager of the Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond fund and co-manager of Baillie Gifford Corporate Bond, is leaving the company on 18 June 2010 to work outside the financial services industry. Rob Baltzer and Donald Phillips will take charge of the High Yield Bond fund while Torcail Stewart will be co-manager of the Corporate Bond fund alongside the current co-manager Stephen Rodger, a partner at Baillie Gifford and head of the fixed income team. Morningstar analysts have placed the Standard rating for Baillie Gifford High Yield Bond fund under review. However, Morningstar have retained the Superior rating for Baillie Gifford Corporate Bond because Stephen Rodger is still in place and Thompson was responsible for the high yield portion of the portfolio, which only makes up approximately 30% of assets.
Man Group acquires GLG Partners
GLG Partners agreed to be acquired by Man Group plc in a deal which took place via two transactions; First a merger agreement between GLG, Man and a Man merger subsidiary and also a share exchange agreement between GLG’s principals. They include co-CEOs Noam Gottesman and Emmanuel Roman and director Pierre Lagrange and two limited partnerships which holds shares for key personnel who participate in GLG’s equity plan. Man Group will acquire the outstanding common stock of GLG - which is not subject to the share exchange - for $4.50 per share. The price represented a 55% premium on the closing price as at 14 May and valued GLG at $1.6 billion.
Jupiter plans to float
Jupiter Asset Management has announced plans to list on the London Stock Exchange before the end of June 2010. The move is expected to raise £220 million and some of its current shareholders, including its senior investment staff, will sell parts of their ownership. The majority stakeholder TA Associates is also selling some of its holding in Jupiter although it is expected to retain a 20% stake in the company.
HSBC launches S&P 500 ETF
HSBC has launched an ETF that is designed to track the returns of the S&P 500 Index. The ETF aims to give investors exposure to the index by buying the underlying shares in the same proportion of the index. The HSBC S&P 500 ETF is listed on the London Stock Exchange and has a total expense ratio of 0.15%.
Morningstar Qualitative Ratings and Reports Issued
This Week Morningstar issued new qualitative ratings and reports on a number of funds available to UK investors this week, including Jupiter Income Trust, Schroder ISF Japanese Equity and BlackRock US Dynamic. Click here to see the full list.
