It’s been another busy week in the funds industry, with news that Old Mutual Global Investors’ head of multi-asset will be leaving the company and a raft of fresh changes being announced for Alliance Trust.
In the following article we round up the most important industry headlines of the week in a handy digest.
Ventre exits Old Mutual during multi-asset shake-up
Old Mutual Global Investors head of multi-asset John Ventre (pictured) is set to leave the company, while the firm has carried out a restructure of its multi-asset team following the acquisition of Quilter Cheviot. 
The group has created a new multi-asset division that includes OMGI staff as well as those from discretionary fund manager Quilter Cheviot. It will be headed up by OMGI multi-asset manager Anthony Gillham and Ben Mountain, who was joint head of managed portfolio service at Quilter Cheviot.
Ventre and François Zagamé, a multi-asset portfolio manager who is also departing, will hand over the Old Mutual Spectrum Funds range to Gillham. The Old Mutual Voyager range will be managed by Anthony Gillham and Sacha Chorley, apart from Old Mutual Voyager Global Dynamic which will be run by Gillham and Lee Freeman-Shor.
Performance of Old Mutual Voyager Diversified over Ventre’s tenure
Source: FE Analytics
Other funds' ranges managed by the OMGI team remain under review and will be managed by the team until further notice.
OMGI says that Ventre and Zagamé “have made a significant contribution to building out OMGI's multi-asset capabilities and we wish them well in their future endeavours”.
Alliance Trust unveils changes to “enhance shareholder value”
The board of Alliance Trust has announced a number of changes designed to improve its performance after the opening half of 2015 was dominated by activist investors Elliott Advisors’ call for overhaul of the £2.5bn investment trust.
This will see the trust’s board become fully independent, meaning Katherine Garrett-Cox will step down from it but remain chief executive of Alliance Trust Investments.
Other changes include amendments to the investment strategy (disposing of its legacy mineral rights, fixed interest and property assets and focusing on global equities); reducing charges; and targeting a single-digit discount, with the use of share buybacks if necessary.
Alliance Trust chair Karin Forseke said: “The actions we have announced, taken together, represent some of the biggest changes in our history and are designed to further improve shareholder value. They will provide our shareholders with an investment trust which aims to outperform a clear benchmark from a cost base which is among the lowest in the sector.”
Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says the new strategy looks “positive on paper, but the proof of the pudding will be in the eating”. He also points out that the trust has already undergone a number of changes over recent years.
Performance of trust vs sector over 3yrs
Source: FE Analytics
“Long-term investors could either view this as a clean slate, or as a return to square one,” he added.
“The elephant in the room is still of course activist investors Elliott Advisors, which owns a significant minority stake in Alliance Trust. Elliott may well be placated by these recent changes. In any case it has agreed not to agitate against Alliance Trust until the next AGM, which is scheduled for May 2016. At this point the gloves come off, and who knows if Elliott will start swinging again.”
Columbia Threadneedle's Harrison hands equity income fund to Colwell
Richard Colwell has been appointed lead manager on the £3.3bn Threadneedle UK Equity Income fund, as head of equities Leigh Harrison steps back to a deputy role.
Colwell has worked alongside Harrison as co-manager on the fund for the past five years, over which time it has posted a total return of 76.20 per cent and outperformed both the IA UK Equity Income sector and the FTSE All Share.
A spokesperson for Columbia Threadneedle Investments said: “This recognises Richard’s outstanding track record and experience in UK equity income management and gives greater accountability for the management of the strategy.”
”As a member of UK equity income team, and deputy manager of the fund, Leigh Harrison will continue to be actively involved in the strategy.”
Performance of fund vs sector and index over manager tenure
Source: FE Analytics
Harrison will remain co-manager on the firm’s £906m UK Equity Alpha Income fund, which he launched in 2006, and £114m UK Overseas Earnings fund.
Pictet Asset Management launches robotics fund
Thematic investing specialist Pictet Asset Management has announced the launch of a fund that will focus on robotics and artificial intelligence technologies.
The Luxembourg-domiciled Pictet-Robotics fund will launch on 8 October. The asset management house says the robotics and artificial intelligence industry is expected to grow four times faster than the global economy over the coming decade.
Karen Kharmandarian, senior investment manager for thematic equities at Pictet, said: “Robots have long been used in factories to automate dangerous, dirty or dull tasks. But the pace of invention is accelerating as robots are becoming indispensable to our professional and personal lives. Companies active in robotics seem bound to enjoy strong growth from this new wave of innovation.”
Pictet Asset Management’s range of thematic strategies already includes specialist funds focusing on digital communication, security, health and water.
First cyber security ETF launches through new partnership
Exchange traded product provider ETF Securities and index maker ISE ETF Ventures have partnered up to launch the first European ETF to provide pure exposure to the cyber security sector.
The ETFS ISE Cyber Security GO UCITS ETF, which listed on the London Stock Exchange earlier this week, offers access to a globally diversified basket of cyber security focused companies. It is diversified across sub-industry, country and market capitalisation.
Kris Monaco, head of ISE ETF Ventures, said: “The ETFS ISE Cyber Security UCITS ETF provides investors with exposure to the first and only European product to track the firms that provide cyber security technologies meeting this growing demand. Moreover, we are thrilled to partner with ETF Securities to offer European investors access to this vital and dynamic sector.”
“As cyber crime continues to grow, governments and companies are prioritising cyber security as an essential investment. With 42.8 million cyber attacks in 2014 and global cyber crime costing an estimated $400bn this is a sector we can expect to dominate headlines and corporate budgets.”
