Abrdn is set to merge its Global Absolute Return Strategy (Gars) fund after a period of poor performance.
Abrdn has taken the decision to fold the Gars fund, which was once the largest in Britain, into the company's diversified asset funds, as first reported by Sky News.
It comes after years of not hitting its own targets with it shrinking to about £1.2bn in size, after having been as large as £20bn in 2018.
According to the company three of its “liability aware” absolute return funds are expected to close later this year.
It has also proposed merging its global absolute return OEIC and SICAV into its diversified assets fund.
Back in February it was announced that Aymeric Forest, who led the team which ran the Gars fund, was leaving the company as its conducted a strategic review into the fund.
The review was led by Russell Barlow who has now been appointed as head of multi-asset and alternative investment solutions.
Barlow said: “My focus during the strategic review was to clarify roles, reduce inefficiency and increase collaboration ensuring we deliver the best outcomes possible for our clients.
“The new structure simplifies our processes and facilitates a greater comparison of opportunities across asset classes rather than being focused on research within single asset classes and products. I’m confident this approach is best suited to the needs of our clients in delivering strong performance outcomes across a more relevant product range.”
In February, Aymeric Forest who led the team running Gars quit while the company carried out the strategic review.
After Forest left the company, the number of roles in the team faced dramatic cuts with at least 27 employees offered voluntary redundancy.
Following the conclusion of the review Peter Branner, chief investment officer at Abrdn, said: “Russell has done a thorough job of creating an offering that will enable us to work together to bring the results our clients need today whilst being ready for the challenges of the future.
"Under Russell’s leadership I am confident that we are able to focus on building successful outcomes for our clients underpinned by a scalable platform to drive the growth of our business.”
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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