Richard Colwell to retire from Columbia Threadneedle

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Richard Colwell to retire from Columbia Threadneedle
Richard Colwell, who will retire from Columbia Threadneedle in November

The manager of Columbia Threadneedle's £3.7bn UK Equity Income Fund will retire later this year after 25 years in the industry.

Richard Colwell will step down as head of UK equities at the company in November this year, CT announced today (September 27).

Colwell has managed the fund since 2010, presiding over a total return of 87 per cent in the past decade, compared to the FTSE All Share index’s 82 per cent

CT UK Equity Income Fund's performance of the last decade

Source: FE Fundinfo

He will be replaced on the fund by Jeremy Smith, head of UK equity research at the firm, and Jonathan Barber will remain as deputy manager.

Smith, who joined the firm in 2015, will be promoted to co-head of UK equities alongside Catherine Stanley.

Stanley joined the company following its acquisition of BMO Global Asset Management.

Global chief investment officer at Columbia Threadneedle, William Davies, said: “Richard has had a long and successful career and leaves a strong franchise and track record of delivering for our clients. 

“He has taken a long term approach to investing, demonstrating clear stewardship over many years. 

“We thank him for his contribution to our clients and our business and wish him well for his retirement.”

Chief investment officer, EMEA, Richard Watts, said the expanded UK equities team will bring “broader perspectives” for the benefit of investment decision making.

“We place significant emphasis on succession planning and I’m pleased that Catherine and Jeremy will be leading this expanded team, which brings together the existing UK equities and specialist equities teams.”

Jason Hollands, managing director at Bestinvest, said Colwell is without a doubt one of the “biggest beasts” in the UK equity income space.

“Richard’s recipe for success lays in being a pragmatic investor who is not dogmatically tied to a strong style bias and with a focus on total return, not just yield. He has blended a core portfolio of quality stocks with a contrarian streak.”

Hollands added that, as with any change of key personnel, it makes sense to review the fund.

The following changes will take place from November 2022: 

Fund Name

Current lead manager

Deputy

manager

New lead manager

New deputy manager

CT UK Equity Income Fund

Richard Colwell

Jonathan Barber

Jeremy Smith

Jonathan Barber

CT UK Equity Alpha Income Fund

Richard Colwell

Jonathan Barber

Jeremy Smith

Jonathan Barber

CT UK Equity Growth and Income Fund

Richard Colwell

Jonathan Barber

Jeremy Smith

Jonathan Barber

CT Monthly Extra Income Fund

Alasdair Ross / Richard Colwell

Jonathan Barber

Alasdair Ross / Jonathan Barber

Jeremy Smith

Threadneedle (Lux) UK Equity Income Fund

Richard Colwell

Jonathan Barber

Jeremy Smith

Jonathan Barber

Source: Columbia Threadneedle

sally.hickey@ft.com