Movers and shakers: October in review

Neil Robson, Threadneedle

Neil Robson has been appointed lead manager of the Luxembourg-domiciled Threadneedle Global Focus Fund. The manager, who was previously global portfolio manager at Martin Currie Investment Management, will join FE Alpha Manager Jeremy Podger’s global equities team.

Prior to Martin Currie, he was head of global equities at Pioneer Asset Management.

Mark Burgess, chief investment officer at Threadneedle, commented: "Neil has a proven track record in managing global equities. We have a strong team-based approach, with a culture of open discussion, debate and sharing of ideas, and I’m confident that Neil will provide valuable input to this process."


Neil Wilkinson, Royal London Asset Management

Royal London Asset Management (RLAM) has announced the appointment of Neil Wilkinson as manager of the £514m Royal London European Growth fund. He was previously director of European equities at Hermes Fund Managers, where he worked for more than seven years.

His investment approach has a strong focus on fundamental analysis, including selecting stocks based on primary research and extensive company contact.

Robert Talbut, chief investment officer at RLAM, commented: "We look forward to Neil joining Royal London Asset Management. He has considerable experience of European equities gained within both buy-side and sell-side environments. Under his management the Royal London European Growth fund will continue to deliver strong relative performance to investors."


James Bateman, Fidelity

James Bateman will join Fidelity in January as a portfolio manager. He will also lead the existing team of three unfettered portfolio managers and be responsible for the development of the manager selection process for global equity products managed in London.

Bateman moves from Barclays Wealth where he was vice-president of multi-manager and fund research.

Andrew Wells, global chief investment officer at Fidelity, said: "James brings considerable expertise in research and fund selection. We have ambitious plans to expand our multi-manager business and he will be a key contributor to our achievement of these goals."


Azim Meghji, Santander Asset Management

Azim Meghji has been named head of credit at Santander Asset Management with responsibility for managing the £977m Sterling Corporate Bond Fund.

Meghji has worked in the fund management industry for more than 10 years and joins from HSBC Global Asset Management, where he had overall responsibility for all its credit investment funds in London, including sterling, US and global credit products for both the retail and institutional market.

During his tenure there, Meghji managed the HSBC UCITS III Sterling Corporate Bond fund and the $1.3bn HSBC Global High Income fund.


Tom Mann, Barings

Barings has appointed Tom Mann as an investment manager in its international and world equities team.

Mann has more than 13 years of experience in the fund management industry and joins Barings from Aberdeen Asset Management where he was an investment manager in the European equities team. Between 2001 and 2009 he was with Credit Suisse Asset Management in the European and EAFE equities team.

Tim Scholefield, head of equities at Barings, commented: "We are very pleased to welcome Tom to Barings. He brings strong experience within international equities that will prove highly valuable as we continue to strengthen our investment capabilities in this area."