Fund manager changes can occur for a number of reasons be it forced, such as a manager retiring, being fired or leaving to go to another firm, or optional, such as being redeployed to a new fund to make way for an up-and-comer. 
At these times, investors have to make the call on whether to stick with the fund or to look elsewhere. Usually this is best done on a case-by-case basis, rather than by having one investment philosophy of always sticking or always twisting.
As such, in the start of a new series in which FE Trustnet looks at the highest-profile manager moves of 2015 three years on, we begin with first change of the year.
At the start of 2015, Simon Brazier (pictured) was handed Investec UK Alpha after he joined the firm and Jonathan Parker moved to the (then) newly launched Investec Global Dividend fund.
Parker had managed the fund for 12 months, taking over from Philip Rodrigs, who defected after two years at the helm to rivals River & Mercantile.
Brazier had previously worked at Columbia Threadneedle Investments, where he was head of UK equities and managed the £2bn Threadneedle UK fund from 2010 to 2014.
Performance of fund vs sector and benchmark over manager tenure
Source: FE Analytics
During his four-year tenure on the fund, it returned 64.28 per cent to investors, beating the IA UK All Companies sector and FTSE All Share index by 12.63 and 16.37 percentage points respectively.
Before this he was at Schroders, where he began his career working under the tutelage of Richard Buxton.
Brazier has employed the same style which worked at Columbia Threadneedle, which looks to benefit from the inefficiency and shortterm nature of stock markets.
The manager is supported by a team that he brought with him from Columbia Threadneedle, who provide investment ideas and analytical resources but also challenge him, analysts at Square Mile Investment Consulting & Research said in a recent investment note.
They added: “The team undertake rigorous analysis of a company's financial position, industry profile and management team, incorporating all of this into an evaluation of what they believe to be its true value.
“This fund is run by a manager who has adhered to the same investment philosophy since the start of his career and has consistently applied a wellconstructed investment process for many years.”
The four FE Crown-rated fund is not designed therefore to shoot the lights out, but instead looks to outperform in all market conditions, thus protecting on the downside.
“Unlike more aggressive strategies within the UK All Companies sector, whose more stringent investment styles may cyclically fall in or out of favour, the manager is aiming instead to produce regular and attractive levels of outperformance,” Square Mile said.
“Given the clarity of the investment philosophy and process, commitment and drive of the fund manager and his supporting team, we believe this is an attractive proposition for investors seeking an opportunistic strategy which should offer a reliable return profile.”
Since taking over the £2.2bn Investec UK Alpha fund in 2015 it has returned 39.71 per cent, broadly in line with both the FTSE All Share and IA UK All Companies sector average, as the below chart shows.
Performance of fund vs sector and benchmark over manager tenure
Source: FE Analytics
It has done so, however, with better volatility and maximum drawdown – the most an investor could lose if buying and selling at the worst possible times – than its average peer.
Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at Willis Owen, said for investors that held the fund at the time of the change it was not a case of considering whether to follow Brazier’s predecessor, as Parker was moved to run a global portfolio – not a like-for-like trade.
As such, it is more a case of looking Brazier’s own track record and what he has bought to the fund and its performance.
“The manager’s approach is flexible and pragmatic, and he constantly seeks to balance out the risk/reward opportunities not only at the individual stock level, but more importantly at an overall fund level,” he said.
His penchant for lower volatility typically means that the fund has a large-cap bias, favouring businesses with a long track records and resilient cashflows.
Indeed, eight of the fund’s top 10 holdings are FTSE 100 names including Tesco, BP, Shell, HSBC and Melrose Industries – its top five weightings.
“He has an excellent long-term track record which has been impressive in its consistency,” Lowcock added.
“Whilst the performance hasn’t been as impressive at Investec, he as excellent skills as a fund manager of a diversified UK equity fund and he has a strong team familiar with him and his processes which will enable him to execute his investment process effectively.”
Investec UK Alpha has a yield of 2.16 per cent and a clean ongoing charges figure (OCF) of 0.83 per cent.
However, not all are convinced. Tilney Group managing director Jason Hollands said while there is “nothing wrong with the product” and that it has “delivered a sensible outcome”, investors may still feel it has underperformed.
“It has been going for three years and over that period it is broadly in-line with the UK market, so performance has been respectable but for a fund that is badged as a high alpha product you would hope it would be adding a bit more,” he said.
He prefers funds that are run with a genuine multi-cap approach, rather than those with a large-cap bias.
For those looking for an alternative to Investec UK Alpha, Hollands suggested the £4.1bn Majedie UK Equity fund, which of those rated by the firm is the most large-cap orientated.
“It is a team-based approach. They delegate the fund across a number of underlying managers so each get a chunk to run and we think that works well with that team,” he said.
Over the same time frame as the Investec UK Alpha fund, it has returned 34.07 per cent, slightly behind the benchmark and sector, as the below chart shows.
Performance of fund vs sector and benchmark from 12 Jan 2015
Source: FE Analytics
However, over the longer term it has outperformed. Indeed, taking a 10-year time horizon it has produced a top quartile return of 172.61 per cent.
The Majedie fund also has a large-cap bias, with 63.6 per cent of the fund in FTSE 100 names such as Shell, BP and Tesco. It has a yield of 2.69 per cent and an OCF of 0.77 per cent.