Newton’s Asian equities star Jason Pidcock has left the group to join rival firm Jupiter to develop an Asian income franchise.
Mr Pidcock has managed the Newton Asian Income fund since 2005, which has produced top quartile returns in the past five years but has lagged peers in more recent time periods after being bottom quartile in the Asia Pacific excluding Japan sector in three- and one-year periods, according to data from FE Analytics.
Newton, which is part of BNY Mellon, is restructuring its emerging market and Asian equity teams into one new team under Rob Marshall-Lee. The group will focus on a team-based approach.
Caroline Keen, who has been co-manager on the Newton Asian Income fund with Mr Pidcock since 2011, will be a part of the new team.
Darius McDermott, managing director at Chelsea Financial Services, said the move was a “cracking hire for Jupiter” and would be a “big loss for Newton”.
He added the Asian Income fund would be removed from Chelsea’s Core Selection list.
Stephen Pearson, head of investments at Jupiter, said: “We have been working to develop our expertise in emerging markets for some time.
“Jason’s focus on a combination of income and growth, typically found among large capitalisation stocks across the Asia Pacific region will add a new dimension to our offering, dovetailing with our existing strategies and giving us the ability to provide clients with a broader range of products to suit their investment objectives.”
