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Richard Colwell to retire after 32 years in the City

27 September 2022

Jeremy Smith and Catherine Stanley will succeed Colwell as Columbia Threadneedle’s co-heads of UK equities.

By Gary Jackson,

Head of editorial, FE fundinfo

Columbia Threadneedle’s Richard Colwell is to retire later this year after a three-decade-long career in financial services.

Colwell, head of UK equities and manager of the £3.7bn CT UK Equity Income fund, will step down in November 2022. He has worked in the City for 32 years, including 25 years running UK equity funds.

CT UK Equity Income has made a top-decile total return of 161.5% since Colwell took over in September 2010, ranking it fourth out of the 56 IA UK Equity Income funds with sufficient track records.

William Davies, global chief investment officer at Columbia Threadneedle, said: “Richard has had a long and successful career and leaves a strong franchise and track record of delivering for our clients. He has taken a long-term approach to investing, demonstrating clear stewardship over many years.”

Performance of CT UK Equity Income vs sector and index under Colwell

 

Source: FE Analytics

Management of the fund will transition to Jeremy Smith, currently head of UK equity research at Columbia Threadneedle. Jonathan Barber will remain as deputy manager, a position he has held since 2010.

The firm said Smith and Barber have significant UK large-cap and income expertise, as well as an in-depth knowledge of the strategy and holdings of CT UK Equity Income. The management of other funds currently led by Richard Colwell will also transfer to Smith and Barber.

In addition, Smith and Catherine Stanley will succeed Colwell to become co-heads of UK equities.

Stanley joined Columbia Threadneedle in 2021 following the acquisition of BMO GAM (EMEA) and currently leads a specialist equities team, which will now become part of the group’s expanded UK equities team.

Richard Watts, chief investment officer, EMEA, said: “We place significant emphasis on succession planning and I’m pleased that Catherine and Jeremy will be leading this expanded team, which brings together the existing UK equities and specialist equities teams. Together these two teams create one of the largest UK equities desks, comprising 21 experienced investment professionals responsible for more than £20bn.

“We believe strongly in the sharing of research, debate and challenge, and the expanded team will bring broader perspectives for the benefit of investment decision making.”

Columbia Threadneedle is also recruiting for a senior equity income portfolio manager to work on its equity income strategies.

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