Fund Times: 1 - 5 September
Frontini to Step Down from Italy Fund, Focus on Struggling European Aggressive; SWIP US Equity Manager Steps Down; Threadneedle Names Chief Operating Officer; Henderson Appoints New CIO and Reshuffles Investment Teams; Resolution and Axial Rebrand, Make No Significant Changes; William Vinke Leaves JOHCM.
Frontini to Step Down from Italy Fund, Focus on Struggling European Aggressive
Alberto Chiandetti will replace Mario Frontini on board Fidelity Funds – Italy from 1 October 2008. Chiandetti joined Fidelity as an Italian equity analyst in 2006, maintaining a focus on small- and mid-cap companies. This is Chiandetti’s first portfolio management role but this is not uncommon at Fidelity where managers typically rise through the analyst ranks. The firm says Chiandetti has worked closely with Frontini over the last three months. Prior to joining Fidelity Chiandetti was an equity analyst at Euromobiliare SIM for over seven years.
Frontini who managed the fund since April 2004 has driven it to its strong returns – since taking charge the manager has generated annualised returns to the tune of 16.5%. The fund also won Morningstar Italy's Best Italian Equity fund award in 2007. Also under Frontini’s helm is Fidelity Funds – European Aggressive which he took over from Sanjeev Shah in January 2007. His performance there, however, has to date been less impressive. The fund has shed 18.2% for the year to date through 3 September, putting it in the bottom one percent of the Morningstar Europe Large-Cap Blend Equity category for the period, and has been buffeted by a large materials stake. You can read more on this here.
SWIP US Equity Manager Steps Down
Ian Tabberer has stepped down from his position as US equity specialist within SWIP’s Global Developed Markets team. Tabberer joined SWIP in June 2005 and managed the firm’s North American and North American Smaller Companies portfolios with Simon Moss and Nick Ford, who joined the US equity desk mid last year. The duo will continue to manage the funds. Results at both of those offerings have been mixed. SWIP North American Smaller Companies has fared favourably relative to its peers in the Morningstar US Mid-Cap Equity category over the last 3, 5, 10 and 15 years, generating annualised returns to the tune of 5.1% over the last three years – although it also provided investors quite a bumpy ride. The performance of SWIP North American, however, is less impressive as the fund returned 0.5% over the last three years, ranking in the bottom quartile of its Morningstar US Large-Cap Blend Equity category.
Threadneedle Names Chief Operating Officer
Threadneedle has appointed Merrill Lynch veteran John Devine as Chief Operating Officer. Devine spent 20 years at Merrill Lynch and was global head of operations prior to his departure, though he occupied a number of CFO and COO roles while at the firm and rotated between Europe, Asia-Pacific and the US. At Threadneedle, Devine will oversee support services including technology, operations, strategy, human resources, finance, and legal & compliance.
Henderson Appoints New CIO and Reshuffles Investment Teams
Following Andrew Formica’s appointment last week as Chief Executive Officer succeeding Roger Yates, Henderson has appointed David Jacob to replace Formica as Chief Investment Officer and managing director of listed assets from 4 November 2008. Jacob has worked for Henderson since January 2005 as head of fixed income and was a year later appointed co-managing director of the listed assets business. Prior to joining Henderson, Jacob was the European and UK head of fixed income at UBS and had spent five years at Merrill Lynch as head of fixed income for the EMEA region.
Other changes at the group include the appointment of Bill McQuaker as head of equities to support Jacob. McQuaker is currently the head of multi-manager funds and will retain his current role. He was a European equity strategist at Credit Suisse First Boston before he joined Henderson, also in 2005. Performance at Henderson’s multi-manager fund range has been strong since McQuaker came on board, with the Distribution , Growth and Income & Growth funds all residing in the top-quartile of the Morningstar Sterling Aggressive Balanced category over that period. Also, Mitesh Sheth has been appointed as deputy head of fixed income and will take over the business management responsibilities from Jacob, who will focus on the investment side. Sheth joined Henderson as an investment director of fixed income in 2005 from Aon Consulting. Performance of Henderson funds focused on the fixed-income realm has been less impressive.
Resolution and Axial Rebrand, Make No Significant Changes
Resolution Asset Management and Axial Investment Management announced this week they would create an umbrella brand called Ignis Asset Management, but noted that the brand, ". . . does not signal a significant change of direction for either underlying business."
William Vinke Leaves JOHCM
William Vinke, manager of JOHCM European Select Values and JOHCM Continental Select Values left the firm on 4 September 2008. Vinke had been with the firm since 2002 and will be replaced with Robbie Wouters, who joined JOHCM shortly after Vinke in 2003 and has worked alongside him for the last five years. Both funds have struggled recently. JOHCM Continental Select Values was launched in 2007 and ended the year well, but so far this year it has trailed its average rival in the Morningstar Europe Ex-UK Small/Mid-Cap Equity category by 3 percentage points. JOHCM European Select Values, however, has an abysmal record overall. The fund has resided in the bottom-quartile of the Morningstar Europe Mid-Cap Equity category for the last 1, 3 and 5 years, and has shed close to a quarter of its value so far this year.
