The tie-up which will see Investec Asset Management run ten active funds for insurance company Vitality should be the start of a “multi-decade” business, according to David Aird, managing director of Investec Asset Management UK.
As FTAdviser reported yesterday (12 June), Vitality is entering the investment market with the launch of a range initially aimed at the financial adviser market.
These include actively managed funds, to be run by Investec, and risk weighted passive funds, run by Vanguard. Distribution Technologies has created the risk profiles.
The active products will be operated under the VitalityInvest brand, but managed by Investec Asset Management UK fund managers; six multi-asset mandates run by the multi-asset desk jointly headed by John Stopford, and four equity funds jointly run by the UK equity manager Simon Brazier. Two of those funds will have an equity income mandate.
Mr Aird told FTAdviser: "It is very rare in this industry to be able to get involved in a completely new venture.
"We competed very extensively to win the right to work with Vitality on this, and have been working on it with them for two years, but I see this as the start of a multi-decade relationship.”
He added that Investec and Vitality’s respective parent companies have a relationship in South Africa, so he was aware of how Vitality like to do business.
Mr Aird said he expects the trend of insurance companies outsourcing investment management to continue to be a trend for the industry.
Investec Asset Management has £21bn of assets in the UK, almost all of which is advised clients money.
David.Thorpe@ft.com
