Manager moves that shook the industry

The shake-up began in March when Richard Buxton left Schroders after 12 years, which included managing the Schroder UK Alpha Plus fund since launch. The biggest surprise was perhaps that Mr Buxton opted for the growing Old Mutual Global Investors. This kick-started a merry-go-round of manager moves, with Jupiter losing Philip Matthews to Schroders as Mr Buxton’s replacement, while Neptune saw Alex Breese also jump ship to help fill the void of departing Schroders managers Errol Francis and Ed Meier.

In addition, Schroders’ acquisition of Cazenove, although not related to Mr Buxton’s departure, meant the spotlight fell on a new raft of managers, including Julie Dean, who replaced Mr Buxton as the manager of the Schroder UK Growth investment trust in May.

A number of announcements signalled that 2014 will be the year of retirements. Fidelity confirmed that veteran manager Anthony Bolton would retire, for the second time, in April 2014 with Dale Nicholls named as his successor on the Fidelity China Special Situations investment trust.

Mr Bolton will remain in the industry as an adviser to Fidelity and a trustee of its charitable foundations. The confirmation of his departure date followed on from the news that his successor on the Fidelity Special Situations fund, Sanjeev Shah, will step down from the management of the fund at the end of 2013 in favour of Alex Wright. Mr Shah will then take on a new role within Fidelity’s Portfolio Manager Academy, which focuses on developing new investment talent.

Another slightly left-field announcement saw Graham French handing over the reins of the M&G Global Basics fund to his deputy Randeep Somel ahead of his retirement in May 2014.

However, a less surprising development was the confirmation that Philip Gibbs, manager of the Jupiter Absolute Return fund and Jupiter Second Split investment trust, would be retiring in October 2014. In September, he handed over the running of the Jupiter Absolute Return fund to recent recruit James Clunie.

Mr Gibbs’ retirement means Jupiter will lose two veteran managers next year as income manager Tony Nutt is also planning to retire in 2014. His replacements have also been internal, with Ben Whitmore taking on the Jupiter Income trust and the Jupiter High Income fund passing to Alastair Gunn following Mr Matthews’ move to Schroders.

The biggest shock of the year, however, came from Invesco Perpetual, with the announcement that Neil Woodford would be leaving in April 2014 to set up his own business. He has been synonymous with Invesco Perpetual for years, managing more than £30bn in assets between the IP High Income and IP Income funds and the Edinburgh Investment Trust.

The company had effectively already had a successor in place in the form of Mark Barnett, although few people imagined that the departure would be so soon, or that it would be for a new business venture.

Big names have dominated the headlines, but there have been other surprising moves. The most recent is the departure of James Sullivan from Miton, who has co-managed the CF Miton Special Situations alongside Martin Gray. It follows Miton’s acquisition of PSigma earlier this year and the departures of Neil Cumming and David Hallam from the group, although it is said to be unrelated to the reorganisation of management on other Miton funds.

Other moves include Tineke Frikkee moving to Smith & Williamson in July as manager of the UK Equity Income Trust, after she was replaced on the Newton Higher Income fund by Richard Wilmot in December 2012.

Meanwhile, Virginie Maisonneuve, head of global and international equities at Schroders, is leaving the company at the end of 2013 for Pimco, as managing director, global head of equities and portfolio manager. Her team responsibilities at Schroders will be taken on by Peter Harrison, while Simon Webber, currently deputy manager, takes control of the Global Alpha Plus fund and the offshore Schroder ISF Global Equity Alpha fund.

While most of the major moves will have been completed by the end of the year, the outstanding number of retirements – and Mr Woodford’s next step – means there is scope for more changes in the industry next year. With many of the so-called ‘star’ managers reaching retirement age, there is a need for ‘young blood’ to start moving up through the ranks.

Nyree Stewart is deputy features editor at Investment Adviser

Manager merry-go-round: industry views

Rob Morgan, pension and investments analyst, Charles Stanley Direct:

“Mr Woodford has spent 25 years at Invesco Perpetual and retirement or a change of direction was always going to happen at some point. Importantly, the six-month transition period means nothing is changing overnight. Investors have plenty of time to consider whether they do wish to invest elsewhere.”

Adrian Lowcock, senior investment manager, Hargreaves Lansdown:

“We do not believe investors should rush to a decision –in our view Neil Woodford is an exceptional manager and he will continue to work hard at achieving strong performance for investors until he departs. A change of manager, particularly one so high profile, will be a hard act to follow.”

Tim Cockerill, investment director, Rowan Dartington:

“It is always worth considering in these situations how much of a funds’ performance is down to a particular individual and this is very hard to assess.”

Jason Hollands, managing director, Bestinvest:

“The news that Neil Woodford is to leave Invesco sets the seal on 2013 being a year of major moves among leading fund managers. Whenever there is a manager move it is important to reappraise the view for holding a fund.”

Darius McDermott, managing director, Chelsea Financial Services:

“Global Basics was built and launched by Graham French with a certain investment approach in mind and, while that doesn’t mean a fund can’t change direction, I think this move changes the game for investors who have been in the fund for some time. I would be surprised if this is the last we see of him.”

The managers: where are they now?

Richard Buxton: Moved from Schroders to Old Mutual Global Investors as head of UK equities and fund manager.

Neil Woodford: Plans to leave Invesco Perpetual in April 2014 to launch a new business, with further details yet to be confirmed.

Anthony Bolton: To retire from fund management in April 2014. He will remain as an adviser to Fidelity.

Sanjeev Shah: Stepping back from fund management and the running of the Fidelity Special Situations fund at the end of 2013 to take on a role within Fidelity’s Portfolio Manager Academy.

Philip Gibbs: Handed over the Jupiter Absolute Return fund, but will run the Jupiter Second Split investment trust until his retirement in October 2014.

Graham French: Handed the management of the M&G Global Basics fund to his deputy Randeep Somel ahead of his retirement in May 2014.

Tineke Frikkee: Moved from Newton to Smith & Williamson in July 2013 as manager of the UK Equity Income Trust.

Virginie Maisonneuve: Currently head of global and international equities at Schroders, but leaving the company at the end of 2013 for Pimco.