Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) has hired another Axa manager as it appears ready to expand its UK equity offering.
Axa Framlington’s Henry Lowson is set to join the fund house in September, both to take over fund responsibilities from the outgoing Victoria Stewart and to help expand RLAM’s UK equity range.
The company said that Ms Stewart, who has been at RLAM for some 17 years and has run the £211m UK Smaller Companies fund since late 2010, had resigned “to pursue new challenges” and will depart on September 9.
Mr Lowson will join as a senior fund manager at the start of September and will take over the running of the fund.
He will also work closely with Derek Mitchell, manager of RLAM’s UK Mid Cap and UK Opportunity funds and the wider equities team to expand the asset manager’s active UK equity strategies.
Mr Lowson joined Axa Framlington in 2005 and became lead manager on the asset manager’s UK Smaller Companies offering in May 2012.
This is not the first time RLAM has poached personnel from Axa, with Richard Marwood making such a move earlier this year.
Mr Marwood had worked at Axa for two decades and ran products including the £897m Distribution fund. He is now a listed manager on the £524m Royal London UK Growth fund.
RLAM chief investment officer Piers Hillier said: “Henry is a natural fit and compliments RLAM’s UK equity team’s approach which is based on fundamental research and stock selection.
“I am confident that Henry’s skills will help us further develop our range of high-conviction UK equity funds.”
