St. James’s Place has merged its UK growth and equity funds into the general progressive fund and renamed it the UK fund.
The move has seen it appoint new managers Baillie Gifford and LA Capital Management, while Majedie Asset Management has been removed as a manager.
Schroders, which is the existing manager of the managed growth fund, has also been added as a manager of the UK fund.
These changes are expected to take effect on July 14 and will see RWC, Columbia Threadneedle, BlackRock, Schroders, LA Capital Management and Baillie Gifford have an equal weighting of the fund’s assets.
SJP said it has opted to make these changes as part of its long-term investment strategy to create asset class ‘building blocks’, which is a selection of multi-manager funds that offer a blend of fund managers with diverse investment styles.
Tom Beal, chief investment officer at SJP, said: “By merging three of our existing funds – UK Growth, UK Equity and UK and General Progressive – the resultant UK fund will offer a balanced mix of different investment styles that includes quality, growth and value.
“Blending managers in such a manner is intended to improve the consistency of returns and ensure that client outcomes are not determined by a single investment style being in or out of favour in the market.”
Beal added: “At SJP, we are committed to helping clients achieve financial wellbeing in a world worth living in.
“Our focus remains on designing innovative investment solutions that provide clients with access to a broad range of strategies, managed by carefully-selected investment managers from around the globe.”
sonia.rach@ft.com
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