Baillie Gifford changes objective of British 350
Following an approval from a shareholders’ meeting, Baillie Gifford is changing the name and objective of their British 350 offering which has been struggling with poor returns. The newly-named Baillie Gifford UK Equity Alpha fund will be managed by Gerald Callahan and run as a concentrated portfolio of 25 to 35 stocks. Its objective is to achieve a total return in excess of the FTSE All Share Index over the long-term but before charges and expenses are payable out of the fund. At least 90% of the fund will be invested in stocks listed in the FTSE All Share Index and up to 10% can be invested in collective investment schemes and/or deposits.
F&C completes Thames River deal, Cheeseman departs
F&C completed its acquisition of Thames River Capital on September 1 2010 and also appointed Charlie Porter and Jeremy Charles to its executive committee. Porter is the founder and chief executive of Thames River while Charles was the chief operating officer at the acquired firm. Following the completion of the deal, the F&C fund of funds range has been handed to Gary Potter and Robert Burdett at Thames River Capital. The previous manager Dean Cheeseman and his co-manager Olivier Sonnbichler are leaving the firm after a handover of the funds to Potter and Burdett.
Gartmore appoints new Head of UK Smaller Companies
Gartmore has hired Adam McConkey as Head of UK Smaller Companies; he joined Gartmore in 2000 and is a senior investment manager in the UK Smaller Companies team. McConkey’s appointment follows Gervais Williams’ decision to leave the firm where he previously managed Gartmore Fledgling, Growth Opportunities and Irish Growth investment trusts, and the Gartmore UK & Irish Smaller Companies fund
OMAM bolsters fixed income team
Old Mutual Asset Management has hired fund manager Christine Johnson to manage the Old Mutual Dynamic Bond and high yield analyst Bastian Wagner. Johnson has ten years’ experience and joins from Halbis Capital Management where she was a senior fixed income manager. Prior to Halbis, Johnson was a portfolio manager at Investec Asset Management - where she was in charge of the Investec European High Yield – and also an analyst at Royal & Sun Alliance Investment Management. Bastian Wagner analysed high-yield bonds and leveraged loans from European issuers at Eaton Vance Management International.
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 Schroder Income. Click here to see the full list.
