Jupiter Asset Management’s head of investment trusts and alternatives Magnus Spence has announced his departure from the firm, FTAdviser has learned.
Last week, Spence confirmed he will leave the firm in October, making him one of the latest senior hires to depart ahead of a company-wide restructure.
He first joined Jupiter back in August 2016.
Outgoing chief executive Andrew Formica told FTAdviser back in July 2019 he wanted to grow Jupiter’s investment trust business.
"I think there are a lot of investment trusts out there run by American firms that don't understand what they do, trusts with great heritage,” he said.
“I would hope that we should be there as a place managers think of as a home for investment trusts, we are happy for any trust that might be considering a move to consider us.”
Formica was previously chief executive of Henerson, a UK firm with a large investment trust business which was later bought by Janus, an American firm.
Despite Formica’s efforts, Jupiter’s investment trust business did not grow by much. In July 2019, the company had five investment trusts. Since then, Jupiter has only won one investment trust called Rights and Issues.
Assets in the investment trusts business also fell from £1.2bn to £500mn in the year to June 30, 2022.
Jupiter’s incoming chief executive Matthew Beesley told FTAdviser: “Magnus has held several senior positions during his time with the company, and I would like to thank him for his contribution to the business over this time, and to wish him well for the future.”
Jupiter gears up for re-structure
Jupiter is currently preparing to restructure the business in a bid to stem outflows.
According to a report by FTAdviser’s sister publication Financial Times today (September 16), Jupiter’s incoming chief executive Beesley sent round an internal memo signalling an imminent restructure of the business in a bid to cut costs.
In 2018 and 2019 Jupiter posted two successive years of net outflows - though the company has since started posting inflows again.
But its assets under management fell by £8.1bn in the first half of this year. The company put this down to volatile markets.
Chief executive Formica is set to step down from Jupiter next month. He announced his exit in June, a month after a former Jupiter board member labelled his appointment a “mistake”.
Three years ago, Formica told FTAdviser: “The thing I want to do with this firm in the years ahead is to turn those outflows into inflows, that is what I would like to be judged on.”
Formica and Spence are not the only two senior employees set to leave the firm. Jupiter’s chief risk officer, Veronica Lazenby, is also set to leave, according to an internal memo reported on by FTAdviser’s sister publication Financial Times.
ruby.hinchliffe@ft.com & david.thorpe@ft.com
