ANALYSIS ROUND-UP
Aberdeen team
joined by Parry
Mark Parry, former
managing director at Close
Asset Management, has
been appointed senior
investment manager on
Aberdeen’s multi-asset
team. He will report to
Mike Turner, head of
global strategy and asset
allocation at Aberdeen.
His appointment takes the
multi-asset team to nine.
LGIM merges
fund offerings…
LGIM is to streamline
its fund ranges, with
the merger of two of its
bond income funds into
an existing fixed income
proposition. Michel Canoy
has been the lead manager
of the L&G Managed
Monthly Income Trust since
he took over from Richard
Hodges in March 2011.
The proposal is for his
£53.81m fund to receive
the assets of the £304.1m
L&G Monthly Income
Trust, which he also runs,
as well as £34.6m from
the L&G Barclays Monthly
Income Trust, currently
run by BlackRock which
has indicated its desire to
resign as manager.
…and Aberdeen
follows suit
Aberdeen Asset
Management is to merge
five of its multi-manager
funds into two existing
products, leaving it with
no regionally-biased
propositions. The current
range includes the
Aberdeen Multi-Manager
Emerging Market,
International Growth and
UK Growth portfolios.
These are to be merged
into the existing Equity
Manager portfolio.
Meanwhile, the Multi-
Manager UK Income and
Sterling Bond funds will be
transferred into the Multi-
Asset Distribution portfolio.
news www.portfolio-adviser.com round-up
Rising star Hayes takes on Zemek’s corporate bond fund
Nick Hayes has taken over
from Theodora Zemek as
the lead manager of the
Axa Sterling Corporate
Bond Fund, as he continues
to make his mark in the Axa
Investment Managers fixed
income team. He has
managed the Sterling
Strategic Bond Fund since
joining the firm in June
2010 and in November
Axa IM confirmed it was
to launch a Global Strategic
Bond Fund for him in 2012.
But is he the right man to
take up Zemek’s mantle?
PA analysis
Ignoring her recent wellpublicised
mucky spat with
ex-New Star boss John
Duffield, Zemek has maintained
a sturdy reputation
in the fund world, helped
by a relatively smooth ride
at Axa IM, culminating in
an award for Outstanding
Contributor to the Industry
by OBSR last year.
Her £132m Axa Sterling
Fund manager moves
Johnson handed OMAM
Corporate Bond Fund
Christine Johnson has
been named manager
of the Old Mutual Asset
Managers Corporate Bond
Fund. She had been the
interim manager of the
£520m fund since April
2011 when previous
manager Stephen
Snowden left to join
Aegon Asset Management
UK (now Kames Capital).
Johnson joined the firm
in September 2010 from
Halbis Capital where she
focused on sterling credit
before also managing
global portfolios.
Podger brought in to save
Bolton’s Special Sits legacy
Threadneedle’s Jeremy
Podger is to take over
Corporate Bond Fund has
returned 10% on a total
return basis since she took
over in October 2008,
according to FE Analytics.
But this is well below the
average fund in its sector,
which has grown 25% in
the same period.
In the fund’s most recent
fact sheet, Zemek blamed
its recent poor performance
on exposure to French
banks, although she added
selectively to the banking
sector, including Crédit
Agricole. She also maintained
her view that banks
are better positioned than
before the 2008 crisis.
This, of course, only
tells a small part of the
story and it is a shame the
fund’s growth has stalled
since last summer, even
with the help of ex-New
Star colleague James Gledhill
who joined the team
in June as deputy head
of credit.
Investors wishing to
allocate to fixed income
today may prefer the flexi-
Fidelity’s Global Special
Situations Fund following
a dismal five-year tenure
with Jorma Korhonen
at the helm. Korhonen
inherited the global
element of Anthony
Bolton’s legendary
Special Situations Fund
after it was split in two
in January 2007. Sanjeev
Shah took over the UK
Equity element. Podger,
who will start in March,
was head of global
equities at Threadneedle
and managed the firm’s
Global Select and Global
Extended Alpha funds.
Shaw to co-manage Kames
Capital UK Equity offering
Kames Capital has
promoted Peter Shaw
to co-manager of its UK
bility afforded by strategic
bond funds, an area in
which Hayes, another
ex-New Star manager, has
spent most of his career
working.
Since he took on the
Axa Sterling Strategic Bond
Fund in June 2010, he has
returned an impressive
16%, versus a sector average
in that time of 7%. The
fund is ranked fourth out
of a universe of 66.
“I would not say that
people have been clamour-
Equity Fund, working
alongside Stephen Adams.
Shaw joined Kames
Capital, when the firm
was known as Aegon
Asset Management UK,
in 2001 from accountancy
firm Scott Oswald. Most
recently he has been
working as support
manager to Adams, head
of UK equities, and started
his new co-manager role
on 1 Jan this year.
Tomlins replaces Isaacs
on M&G European Bond
James Tomlins has taken
over as manager of the
£78m M&G European
High Yield Bond Fund.
He is to also take on the
role of deputy manager
of the £1.1bn High Yield
Corporate Bond Fund,
www.portfolio-adviser.com
Axa Sterling Corp Bond under Zemek
-200
Oct ’08 Apr ’09 Oct Apr ’10 Oct
1 Oct ’08 – 1 Dec ’11. Source: FE Analytics
supporting lead manager
Stefan Isaacs. Isaacs was
the European High Yield
Bond Fund manager and
will now support Tomlins
as his deputy.
Newton IM drops US
portfolio as Laing leaves
Simon Laing is to leave
Newton Investment
Management to join
Invesco Perpetual as
head of US equity fund
management. Laing
replaces Andrew Shard as
manager of the £332m US
Equity Fund and will also
play a role in the firm’s
global equity team. Subject
to regulatory approval, his
£57m Newton American
Fund will be looked after
by BNY Mellon Asset
Management.
4 PORTFOLIO ADVISER [www.portfolio-adviser.com] JANUARY 2012
30
200
100
%
0
-100
Sterling corporate bond
fund sector average
Axa Sterling Corporate Bond
Apr ’11
Oct
ing for Zemek to move
over, but it makes sense as
Hayes has been running
the Strategic Bond Fund for
a year, and Zemek wants to
take a step back and move
into a managerial role,”
commented Ben Seager-
Scott, senior research analyst
at Bestinvest.
“It will be interesting to
hear how Hayes intends to
run it, whether he will stick
with Zemek’s style or put
his own skills into it.”
Gary Shepherd
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