Miton UK Value Opportunities fund managers George Godber and Georgina Hamilton are to join Polar Capital, Investment Adviser can reveal.
The managers, whose resignations from Miton were announced yesterday, are understood to be joining Polar upon the expiration of their notice periods to run a UK equity product.
Mr Godber is contracted to Miton for the next 12 months, and Ms Hamilton for the next six. They joined the firm in 2012, having previously worked at Matterley alongside Henry Dixon, now at Man GLG.
Their departure from Miton has prompted a 25 per cent drop in the company’s share price today (April 7).
The pair’s UK Value Opps fund is £869m in size, and accounts for almost 30 per cent of Miton’s total assets under management.
Miton said its focus “continues to be on looking after the best interests of its clients as it recruits replacement portfolio managers”.
UK Value Opps has delivered a return of 57.7 per cent since its launch in March 2013, compared with the average 16.4 per cent return from the IA UK All Companies sector, according to data from FE Analytics.
Polar Capital does not currently offer a long-only UK equity fund, but did launch a UK long/short portfolio for Guy Rushton in 2014. Mr Rushton was hired from Legal & General Investment Management.
Polar declined to comment.
