Newton Investment Management has appointed Zoe Kan as lead manager on the £2.1bn Asian Income fund, moving away from its team-led approach.
Ms Kan will now lead the fund’s strategy supported by Rob Marshall-Lee and Caroline Keen – who are named as alternate managers. Ms Kan has worked at Newton, part of BNY Mellon, for 15 years and has been involved with the management of the Asian Income fund since its inception in 2005.
Jason Pidcock was the last lead manager of the fund but left in May 2015 to join Jupiter and has since launched a rival vehicle. After Mr Pidcock’s departure, Newton opted for a team-based appraoch on the fund as it tried to calm investors and stem outflows.
It combinined its emerging market and Asian equity investment teams, led by Mr Marshall-Lee.
Fergus McCarthy, head of UK and Ireland intermediary distribution at BNY Mellon, said: “We have been very pleased with the performance of the Newton Asian Income fund over the last 12 months, and this is due to the experience and skill of the Newton emerging and Asian equity team under the leadership of Rob Marshall-Lee.”
However, he added: “We recognise advisers and their clients like to have a named manager on the funds they invest in. It is common across Newton’s fund range to have a named lead and alternate manager.
“With Rob having had a good opportunity to review the best way for the team to continue to deliver strong investment performance, it has been decided to combine the strength of the team-based approach with the visibility of a named lead manager on the fund.”
Rob Marshall-Lee, head of emerging and Asian equities at Newton, said: “Zoe is a natural choice to lead the fund, given her significant experience on the fund itself and in Newton’s wider management of Asian equities.”
Since Mr Pidcock’s departure, the fund has returned 3.8 per cent compared to the IA Asia Pacific ex Japan sector average loss of 8.4 per cent, according to FE Analytics.
