Fixed IncomeOct 30 2014

SLI sees mass outflows after rates team exits

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The Ignis Absolute Return Government Bond fund has more than halved in size since lead manager Russ Oxley and his team departed for Old Mutual.

The size of the fund, which was listed by Standard Life as one of the key reasons behind its acquisition of Ignis earlier this year, dropped from £4.2bn on October 10 to £1.8bn now.

The fund has lost 1.2 per cent in performance terms in that time, according to FE Analytics, so the majority of the decline has come from investors selling out of the fund.

Standard Life Investments (SLI) had announced Mr Oxley’s exit, along with five members of his team, on October 13, leaving Stuart Thomson as the only surviving member of the original management team remaining at SLI.

Investment Adviser had revealed that a number of multi-managers quickly sold out of the fund following the departure of Mr Oxley.

The multi-manager teams at Rathbone Unit Trust Management, Architas and Aberdeen Asset Management, had all sold out of the fund within a week of the announcement.

Since the departure of Mr Oxley and his team, Ignis chief investment officer Chris Fellingham has taken the fund on alongside SLI’s Jonathan Gibbs and Adam Skerry.

A spokesperson for SLI said: “When we announced our acquisition of Ignis Asset Management in March 2014, the Ignis Absolute Return Government Bond Fund held assets of around £2.9bn. It currently stands at circa £1.8bn.

“Clearly, some of the reduction in assets will be a reaction to several members of the Ignis rates team choosing to leave the company but this is in no way an uncommon occurance at the early stages of an acquisition.

“The pace of outflows from the fund has now dramatically slowed and the current holding is comfortably in line with our expectations.”

The spokesperson said SLI was still in contact with investors who sold out and claimed many of them had “expressed continued interest in the fund and may well look to reinvest at a future date”.