Threadneedle’s head of US equities Cormac Weldon has resigned from the company after nearly 17 years to join rival fund group Artemis.
Mr Weldon is to leave the group in April to join the company, as is his colleague Stephen Moore, where the duo will launch an American equities franchise. Alongside the two managers, five US equity analysts are also leaving Threadneedle.
Diane Sobin will take on Mr Weldon’s responsibilities at Threadneedle.
Mr Weldon ran the group's £2.3bn American and £2.3bn American Select funds as well as its £641.4m American Smaller Companies fund.
Artemis’ senior partner, Mark Tyndall, said: “With successful launches over the past three years of Global Income, European Opportunities and Global Select funds, complementing our established funds, we have already broadened what we offer our clients.
“Cormac and Stephen will allow us to add North American equities to our range for the first time.
“The investment records of Cormac and Stephen speak for themselves, as does the scale of the assets they manage.”
Threadneedle said it would place more emphasis on working with Columbia Management, a US-based subsidiary of Threadneedle’s parent company Ameriprise.
Threadneedle and Columbia manage a combined $117bn (£70.4bn) in US equities, with 56 portfolio managers and 58 analysts located in London and across America.
Mark Burgess, chief investment officer at Threadneedle, said Mr Weldon had decided to leave after 17 years at the company and thanked him for his “valuable contribution”.
“Following his departure, we will continue to invest in our London team under Diane’s leadership, while also better and more fully utilising the research resources of Columbia Management.
“Columbia has a successful and well-resourced US equities team and there is significant potential to collaborate further in order to enhance both firms’ capabilities in the sector.
“Threadneedle’s proven investment process is based on collaboration and sharing of ideas to deliver a perspective advantage, and this approach supports and extends that process by making many more US-based resources available to our clients.”
