Newton and Insight brands dropped from £27bn worth of funds

The multi-billion pound Newton Real Return and Global Income funds are among £27.3bn worth of retail funds at BNY Mellon Investment Management to switch branding in favour of the parent company.

The $1.8trn asset manager told clients in a written note sent on Tuesday night that UK-domiciled products for retail investors and their intermediaries will be rebranded in a move effective from 10 June.

It follows in the footsteps of its US business where funds under the Dreyfus brand will also be rebranded as BNY Mellon products, in a move announced in March.

In total, 34 funds will be rebranded, joining the five existing UK-domiciled funds for retail investors with BNY Mellon branding. The £6.8bn Newton Real Return and £5.3bn Global Income funds are among the largest funds affected alongside the Global Dynamic Bond and Global Equity funds, and the Multi-Asset Balanced fund.

‘It doesn’t change anything structurally at all’

The UK move does not coincide with any changes to business strategy at the asset manager, which runs a multi-boutique model, and Newton Investment Management and Insight Investment will continue under their existing brands despite the changes to the fund names.

Institutional-only products will remain under the existing boutique names.

BNY Mellon IM global head of distribution Matt Oomen said no personnel changes would result from the rebranding. “Our sales people have carried BNY Mellon business cards for some time. It doesn’t change the way people’s money is managed or the firms they’re managed by. It doesn’t change anything structurally at all, it’s really a branding initiative.”

The departure in April of head of UK and Ireland intermediary distribution Fergus McCarthy, who is currently on gardening leave, was not connected to the changes, Oomen confirmed.

BNY Mellon more familiar to retail investors

The rebrand would create one simplified and consistent brand strategy in the UK for intermediary and retail investors, a press release published on Wednesday said. It also brings the UK in line with every other market in which BNY Mellon operates, including Europe and Asia Pacific, plus the US once Dreyfus rebrands $63bn worth of funds from 3 June.

Anne-Marie McConnon (pictured), chief marketing officer at BNY Mellon Investment Management, told Portfolio Adviser a global brand campaign with a large focus on digital will launch in June.

BNY Mellon IM spoke to 60 client organisations worldwide as part of its brand overhaul, McConnon said. Advisers and distributors told the asset manager the BNY Mellon brand was more recognisable to retail investors.

Explaining the different branding approach based on investor type, she said: “When we spoke to clients, what we heard from them is that institutional clients really valued that direct access to our investment boutiques so from that perspective we’re going to be dialing up the boutiques. But as you go more retail, what we know is that clients value that one point of access and the bigger investment brands.”

The change allows BNY Mellon IM to invest more heavily in a single brand and makes it easier for clients to find the firm, said Oomen. “Quite frankly, when we did the research, it was really apparent that when you went to search for our funds it wasn’t as easy as it might be. Some platforms would name BNY Mellon in there somewhere, some wouldn’t.”

BNY Mellon IM chief executive Mitchell Harris said the changes highlight the “global scale and financial stewardship” of the parent company. “In intermediary and retail, having a strong and recognisable brand is increasingly important and we want to make it as easy as possible for clients to identify and access our full suite of investment solutions,” Harris said.

Insight and Newton funds to be rebranded