Analysts and advisers have said there is no need for panic as Threadneedle’s star manager Leigh Harrison hands over the reins to one of the UK’s largest equity income portfolios to Richard Colwell.
Yesterday (5 May), Columbia Threadneedle announced its head of European equities will be retiring on 30 June, leaving co-manager Mr Colwell at the helm of the £3.2bn fund.
Exits by big name fund managers have been known to hit assets, with Invesco Perpetual seeing billions of pounds fly out of the Income and High Income funds after Neil Woodford left.
Alex Reynolds, independent financial adviser at Advies Private Clients, said Mr Harrison’s departure is a “big loss” for Threadneedle, particularly given his “long track-record of success”, which spans 32 years.
But he said investors should not panic and sell out. “Richard Colwell is an experienced manager and should be allowed the opportunity to show his ability to manage the fund.”
Darius McDermott, managing director of Chelsea Financial Services, said he was confident in the “good succession planning by Columbia Threadneedle”.
Mr Colwell took the reins as lead manager of the stellar performing UK Equity Income in October.
Mr McDermott said: “Richard is a manager we rate very highly in his own right, and he has played a significant role in making the Threadneedle UK equity income franchise the success it is today.”
He declared “full confidence” in Mr Colwell and confirmed the fund will remain on his company’s core selection list.
“There’s no need for an urgent, knee-jerk reaction.” Ben Seager-ScottBen Seager-Scott, director of investment strategy at Tilney Bestinvest, said Mr Harrison has left his mark on the financial services industry and has a “long and distinguished” record.
But he too was comfortable with Mr Colwell taking over, particularly as the manager has been involved with the fund for more than six months.
“Obviously with any change like this, we’ll continue to monitor the situation in case there are any unexpected developments or issues, but as it stands, I’m relaxed about the whole thing.
“All in all, it seems like a natural progression of talented professionals through a well-established company. “
Mr Seager-Scott added if investors have concerns, then there’s no need for an “urgent, knee-jerk reaction” and instead they should take it as an opportunity to review their options.
According to FE figures, the Threadneedle Equity Income fund has returned 58.9 per cent over five years, against a return of 44.1 per cent for the IA UK Equity Income sector over the same period.
katherine.denham@ft.com
