St James’s Place (SJP) is reviewing £5bn in mandates after Axa Investment Managers’ Richard Peirson announced his retirement and the manager of the wealth firm’s corporate bond strategy changed companies.
Axa IM announced last week that Mr Peirson was to retire next year after over two decades at the firm, a move which has prompted SJP to review the £3.2bn mandate he runs for the wealth manager.
Mr Peirson currently manages the £358m SJP Balanced Managed fund as well as life and pensions portfolios for the firm.
Chris Ralph, chief investment officer at SJP, said the business was in discussions with Axa IM over the future of the mandate.
He said: “We have been discussing options with Axa IM as to how the Balanced Managed fund will be run going forward. Clearly we have some time as he won’t be leaving until March 2017 but we are carefully considering and planning our next steps.”
There is no guarantee the mandate will remain with the fund manager. Mr Ralph added: “We need to consider all potential avenues to ensure that we can continue to deliver a superior return for clients.”
SJP is already in the process of reviewing a separate strategy following the departure of Babson Capital chief investment officer Zak Summerscale at the end of the first quarter.
Mr Summerscale, who left the US fixed income specialist to join Intermediate Capital, runs the £700m SJP International Corporate Bond fund as part of a £2.1bn mandate with the wealth manager.
Mr Ralph said: “There is no question that losing your people means the process will change. We have to decide whether Babson Capital are capable of continuing the process.”
Axa IM, meanwhile, said it was actively working with all of its clients to ensure a smooth transition following Mr Peirson’s retirement.
Mr Peirson, who has been running the SJP fund since 2006, will retire in March 2017 after 23 years with Axa IM. He will be replaced on his flagship mandate, the £962m Axa Framlington Managed Balanced fund, by co-lead manager Jamie Hooper.
Mr Hooper became co-lead manager in late 2015, taking over responsibility for UK equities from Mr Peirson, as the firm began succession planning.
The fund’s 41 per cent allocation to global equities will continue to be managed by Framlington’s international equities desk, with Nick Hayes controlling its fixed income allocations.
