Manager Changes - November 2006 ISIS UK Select Investment Trust
Phil Doel has taken over management of the Isis UK Select trust and will alter it to reflect the strategy used on his F&C UK Opportunities fund.
Subject to shareholder approval, the vehicle will drop the Isis branding in favour of F&C and, while its objective will remain the same, its policy will be altered to see Doel invest in 25 equally weighted high-conviction stocks.
Investec American Fund
Investec Asset Management has reinforced the team managing its top-performing American fund, with Ed Maran and Connor Browne joining existing manager Bill Fries of Thornburg.
Until now Browne and Maran have been portfolio associates on the vehicle but have taken on co-manager roles and whilst the promotions have been made with Fries' retirement in mind, David Aird, the firm's managing director, said the US-based manager has no immediate plans to retire.
Investec outsourced the management of the fund and its offshore version to Thornburg, which is based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, four years ago. Maran has 19 years of investment experience and Browne has five, with the former previously working alongside Fries at USAA, a financial firm for military members.
Fidelity Moneybuilder Growth
Sam Morse, Fidelity's head of institutional UK equities, is taking over as lead manager on the group's £452m Moneybuilder Growth fund.
Morse will take control of the retail fund on 1 December, replacing Anas Chakra who will concentrate on pan-European equity mandates. Chakra will continue to run a European fund for Fidelity's Canadian affiliate in addition to taking over management of the hybrid equity fund, Fidelity Fast Europe.
The Fast Europe mandate is currently managed by Alexander Scurlock, who is relinquishing control to run Fidelity's European Growth fund.
Fidelity said it expects no dramatic shift in investment strategy when Morse takes over the mandate, adding that he favours a bottom-up approach to stockpicking with no benchmark or market capitalisation constraints. He also focuses on companies that are growing their dividends.
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