FUND MANAGEMENT NEWS
NEW ABSOLUTE RETURN FUND TO LAUNCH
Threadneedle has this week announced plans to launch its UK Absolute Alpha Fund in the fourth quarter of this year, bolstering the asset management house’s range of absolute return funds and responding to growing client appetite for such products. Mark Westwood and Chris Kinder, who both have long/short experience, will manage the UCITS-III fund. For institutional investors, the annual management charge will be 1 per cent and the performance fee is 20 per cent.
OBSR REINSTATES SCHRODER FUND RATINGS
Research house Old Broad Street Research (OBSR) yesterday announced that it has reintroduced Schroder’s Income and Income Maximiser funds ratings. Both ratings were suspended in 2010 following the departure of previous managers Nick Purves and Ian Lance. The two funds are now managed by Nick Kirrage and Kevin Murphy, who have successfully managed the Schroder Recovery fund since July 2006. The Income fund is now rated A, having been AA-rated prior to its suspension while the Income Maximiser fund has been reinstated at A.
ST JAMES’S PLACE ADDS INCOME FUND
St James’s Place announced earlier this week that it has added a UK & International Income fund to its range. The fund, which will launch on 18 October, will be run by Artemis Investment Management’s Adrian Frost and Adrian Gosden. St James’s Place said the new fund aims to achieve an income exceeding the average yield of stocks comprising the FTSE All-Share, while providing scope for capital appreciation over the medium-to-long term.
JP MORGAN EXPANDS COMMODITIES TEAM
JP Morgan Asset Management has added to its natural resources team with the appointment of Neil Gregson, who was formerly senior portfolio manager at CGS Asset Management. Gregson has worked in commodity investments for his whole career, having been a mining investment analyst at Gold Fields, a South African firm and, during his time at Credit Suisse Asset Management, managing emerging market resource equity funds.