FE fundinfo Alpha Managers David Gait and Sashi Reddy have left Stewart Investors, the firm announced on Thursday, alongside co-manager Sujaya Desai.
Between them, they managed funds with almost £10bn in assets under management for the firm, including the flagship £5.5bn Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders fund.
The pair took over the fund in 2016 but returns have underwhelmed, with the portfolio making a 77.1% return over the past nine years.
Although the fund sits in the IA Specialist sector, when compared with the IA Asia excluding Japan sector, it has fallen behind.
Gait, who has been at Stewart Investors for the past 28 years, has also co-managed the £421m Pacific Assets Trust since 2010, with Douglas Ledingham joining him in 2018. Ledingham will remain on the trust and will be joined by Jack Nelson, with a statement from the trust noting there will be “no change” to the investment process.
All of the portfolios managed by Gait and Reddy are in the fourth quartile of their respective peer groups over shorter timeframes, with none able to achieve top-quartile returns over five or 10 years.
Reddy has been at the firm since 2007, while Desai joined in 2016 and was named as co-manager on the Stewart Investors Global Emerging Markets Leaders in January 2025 – his first fund manager role.
A statement from First Sentier, the parent company of Stewart Investors, read: “We can confirm the resignations of David Gait, Sashi Reddy and Sujaya Desai. We thank them for their contributions to Stewart Investors. A comprehensive transition plan is in place to address the changes and ensure portfolio management continuity.”