BlackRock’s UK Income co-manager Nick McLeod-Clarke is to take long-term sick leave and will stop managing his funds with immediate effect, Investment Adviser can reveal.
Mr McLeod-Clarke, who runs the £677.6m UK Income fund and the £45.3m Income and Growth investment trust with Adam Avigdori, will step down from management of both offerings to take leave to recover from poor health.
The company said Mr Avigdori, who has co-managed UK Income since 2009 would take control of the fund. Management responsibilities for the trust have to be agreed by its board, which is meeting later today.
“We have requested that Nick McLeod-Clarke takes long-term leave from BlackRock in order to properly recuperate from poor health and we wish and expect him to make a full recovery,” a statement from the company said.
It added when Mr McLeod-Clarke returned, he would not be tasked to the retail fund again but would instead manage institutional money.
“In order to provide our unitholders with complete clarity regarding management and performance of the fund, Nick will step down from managing the fund with immediate effect and will not return to managing it,” the company said.
“We are looking to add resources to support the management of these important income strategies on behalf of our investors. Upon Nick’s return, he will resume the management of a number of institutional mandates.”
UK Income has produced a second quartile return of 38.2 per cent in five years to April 17 compared with the IMA UK Equity Income sector average return of 31.5 per cent and the benchmark FTSE All Share’s return of 29.4 per cent, according to FE Analytics.
However, the fund is bottom quartile in one and three-year terms, the data provider added.
The trust, which BlackRock took over in April 2012, has seen its performance improve under Mr McLeod-Clarke and Mr Avigdori.
The trust has delivered a share price total return of 18.2 per cent in the year to April 17 compared with the FTSE All Share index’s 9.8 per cent, according to FE Analytics. In five years, the trust has lost 8.5 per cent.
