Aberdeen multi-manager Aidan Kearney has left the company following its buyout of Scottish Widows Investment Partnership (Swip).
Mr Kearney was co-head of multi-manager with Graham Duce but has now left the group following a restructure of the £15bn manager selection team which now features Aberdeen and Swip staff.
The combined team, which oversees research, selection and ongoing due diligence of funds, will be led by investment directors Mark Harries and Simon Wood who joined Aberdeen as part of the merger with Swip.
The pair will lead Aberdeen and Swip’s multi-manager portfolios while Mr Duce will take on a wider role as head of the UK-based discretionary multi-asset team.
Rob Bowie, Justin Jones and Sonja Tilly from Aberdeen’s multi-manager team will remain as part of the combined manager selection team.
Archie Struthers, global head of investment solutions at Aberdeen Asset Management, said: “By combining the two legacy teams, we now have one of the most experienced and well resourced in the industry with more than 60 investment professionals developing and delivering innovative solutions for our clients.”
Mr Struthers said Mr Kearney had made a “significant contribution” to Aberdeen’s multi-manager business since joining from Credit Suisse in 2009.
“I would like to thank him for his professionalism during the past few months and wish him all the best for the future,” he added.
Mr Kearney joined Aberdeen with his multi-manager colleagues when Aberdeen bought Credit Suisse.
Aberdeen’s flagship £382.6m Multi-Manager Cautious Managed fund has produced third quartile returns in five years and is second quartile in three in the IMA Mixed Investment 20-60% Shares sector, according to FE Analytics.
The seven Aberdeen retail multi-manager funds have £716.3m assets in total.
Swip’s retail-facing £63.7m Multi-Manager Diversity fund has produced fourth quartile returns in five-, three- and one-year periods but has outperformed its Consumer Prices index benchmark.
