FE fundinfo Alpha Manager Harry Nimmo has stepped down from the £1.9bn ASI Global Smaller Companies fund with co-manager Kirsty Desson assuming the role as lead manager.
The popular fund has been one of the best performers in the IA Global sector over the past decade making a 372.3%, almost 170 percentage points more than the average peer.
It has also been a strong option for investors over the near term, making 29.5% since last October when vaccines started to be rolled out and the economy started to reopen.
Total return of fund vs sector since launch
Source: FE Analytics
Nimmo launched the fund with Alan Rowsell in 2012, but stepped down in 2016, returning in February last year to support the fund following Rowsell’s departure.
He has also resigned as head of smaller companies last year, suggesting he is lessening his duties after almost forty years in the industry, according to analysts.
Despite leaving his managerial role, Nimmo will maintain a high level of involvement in the company as a researcher and analyst. The fund’s investment strategy will also remain unchanged, with the continued use of Nimmo’s ‘Matrix’ system as the leading force in scouting out and growing small companies.
The software analyses and ranks companies based on their quality using factors such as earnings and capital growth.
New lead manager Desson has been been co-manager since 2020 but has 20 years industry experience specialising in both emerging markets during her time at Martin Currie and smaller companies at abrdn.
Henry Ince, investment analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said that the fund would remain on its Wealth Shortlist as a recommended fund despite the change.
“Fund managers come and go and it’s only natural to associate their departure with the potential for change. In this instance, we don’t expect much to change. Desson and Nimmo use the same investment philosophy and have worked together for the best part of a decade,” he said.
However, he said that the firm typically favoured fund managers with a track record of five years and that its continuation on the list was predicated on the continuity of the team and Nimmo’s involvement within the firm.
“Although he will no longer be a named manager, we take comfort knowing that his experience will continue to play an important role in stock selection, guidance and mentoring the next generation of smaller companies investors,” he said.