A looming fund launch from the US’ Capital Group, the retirement of one of BlackRock’s UK equity managers and close to £10bn in outflows from Aberdeen Asset Management are some of the headlines that have been flying around the industry this week. 
As a spot of weekend reading, we’ve rounded up some of the news stories that have been filling the financial pages over the past few days. Please take a look at them below.
BlackRock's Plackett to retire from fund management
Richard Plackett, co-manager of the £1.4bn BlackRock UK Special Situations fund, is to retire from the asset management industry after 25 years.
Plackett took a six-month sabbatical last year before returning to the asset management house in October, when he stepped from being head of the firm’s UK small and mid-cap equities team and handed over two of his investment trusts.
In a letter to clients, BlackRock said: “Richard Plackett has decided to retire from the fund management industry after a long and successful 25-year career. We wish him well in his retirement and thank him for his contributions to the firm and its clients.”
Luke Chappell will become a co-manager on BlackRock UK Special Situations with immediate effect, working alongside Roland Arnold, who has been on the fund since 2012.
Plackett will remain as co-manager of the fund until 30 September to assist with the transition of his responsibilities, before leaving the group by the end of the year.
FE Analytics shows BlackRock UK Special Situations has outperformed its average peer since Plackett joined the portfolio in June 2006, with a 213.81 per cent return. This compares with a 142.13 per cent gain in the IA UK All Companies sector.
Performance of fund vs sector over manager tenure
Source: FE Analytics
Aberdeen hit with £9.9bn outflows
Aberdeen Asset Management suffered fresh outflows of £9.9bn over the three months to the end of June, the group’s latest results shows, as investors continue to pull back from Asia and emerging markets.
The firm’s assets under management dropped to £307bn during the second quarter, down from £331bn three months earlier and reflecting redemptions, market movements and negative effects from currency.
According to the results, £6.8bn of the drop in assets was a result of underperformance while £6.8bn was lost because of foreign exchange movements. Some £3.7bn was due to outflows from the SWIP business acquired by Aberdeen.
Martin Gilbert, chief executive of Aberdeen Asset Management, said: “Market and FX movements together with low margin outflows from certain fixed income and solutions clients accounted for a large proportion of the decline in AUM.”
“In addition, macroeconomic factors and investor sentiment towards Asia and emerging markets continued to weigh on equity flows.”
“Despite this the long-term investment case for Asia and emerging markets is unchanged and we believe that committed investors will be rewarded over time.”
Fidelity cuts fees on Fidelity Asian Values
The annual management charge (AMC) on the Fidelity Asian Values investment trust are to fall next month after a decision by its board and Fidelity Worldwide Investment.
From 1 August 2015, the trust’s AMC will move from 1 per cent to a tiered structure, starting at 0.9 per cent on the trust’s first £200m of gross assets and falling to 0.85 per cent when assets rise above £200m. The trust is currently £182.5m in size.
Fidelity Asian Values chairman Kate Bolsover said: : “We regularly review our fees to ensure they remain competitive, particularly following the Retail Distribution Review which has resulted in changes to pricing. Both the board and Fidelity believe that this change will be attractive to new investors considering Fidelity Asian Values and this will be to the benefit of investors in the company overall.”
In addition, the trust’s comparative index will change from MSCI AC Far East ex Japan to the MSCI Asia ex Japan index on 1 August. As the index is used for comparative purposes only, this change will have no effect on the investment approach or holdings of the portfolio.
Performance of trust vs sector and index over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
FE Analytics shows the fund has returned 50.92 per cent over the past three years, outperforming both the index and its average peer in the AIC’s Asia Pacific ex Japan Equities sector.
Capital Group to bring flagship strategy to UK investors
Capital Group, which is one of the world’s largest active equity managers, has unveiled plans to launch its flagship strategy for UK and European investors later in the year.
The Capital Group New Perspectives fund, which is subject to regulatory approval, will be a Luxembourg-listed UCITS fund and will have an unconstrained global investment approach.
Its portfolio will be a mirror of the firm’s US mutual fund equivalent, which has assets under management of around $60bn. This strategy, which has been running for more than 40 years, focuses on blue-chip companies that are well-positioned to take advantage of global secular trends and have the potential to develop into leading multinationals.
Grant Leon, managing director for financial intermediaries in Europe at Capital Group, said: “US investors have had access to the New Perspective fund for many years and we are excited to bring this strategy to European clients.”
“The launch of the New Perspective strategy will complement our drive to grow our European financial intermediary business and epitomises our focus on delivering superior, consistent long-term investment results.”
Equity income manager Richard Black quits LGIM
Richard Black, manager of the Legal & General UK Equity Income fund, has resigned from Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM).
Andrew Koch, head of European equity funds and a member of the global income team at LGIM, has been appointed as interim manager of the £591m fund until a permanent manager is named.
Lance Phillips, head of active equity at LGIM, said: “We are very sorry that Richard will be leaving LGIM to pursue a career opportunity outside the UK. He has been a valued member of the active equity team since he joined us in 2008 and has managed the fund, alongside other institutional portfolios, ably since its inception in 2011.”
“In the time before Richard leaves LGIM we are working to ensure a seamless handover of responsibilities to Andrew Koch as the interim manager of the fund, but in the meantime we offer him and his family our best wishes for the future.”
Black had managed Legal & General UK Equity Income since its launch in March 2011. Over that time, the fund has posted a total return of 48.90 per cent, outperforming the FTSE All Share’s 37.81 per cent but falling behind the 52.68 per cent made by the average IA UK Equity Income fund.
Performance of fund vs sector and index since launch
Source: FE Analytics