Majedie UK Income fund manager Mark Wharrier has left the firm after a run of underperformance and will be replaced by Chris Field.
Wharrier (pictured) joined Majedie in May 2018, just seven months after he was hired by Troy Asset Management as assistant manager on the Trojan Income fund alongside Francis Brooke and Hugo Ure. Prior to joining Troy, he co-managed the Blackrock UK Income fund and Income and Growth investment trust.
Since Wharrier took over management on 5 November 2018, the Majedie UK Income fund has lost 1.7%, compared to its benchmark index, the FTSE All-Share, which gained 11%, while the IA UK Equity Income sector returned 12% over the same period, according to FE Fundinfo.
The fund has shrunk substantially from £777m in October 2018 to £100m in March, with outflows of £203m in 2020, according to Morningstar data.
However, since its inception in 2011 the fund has outperformed its benchmark, returning 110%, compared to the FTSE All-Share Index returns of 85.9% over the same period.
The fund has been co-managed by Mike Totton since July 2019 but will be run solely by executive director and Majedie founder Chris Field.
Wharrier was also a co-manager of the Majedie UK Focus fund alongside Field, Totton and Imran Sattar. The £908m fund has returned 36.3% over one year, compared to the IA UK All Companies average of 35.8%, accordif to FE Fundinfo.
The UK Focus fund was also hit with outflows of £139m in 2020 with a drop in assets under management from £1.2bn in January 2020 to £993m at the end of the year.
A Majedie spokesperson confirmed that Wharrier left Majedie on 4 May. They said: “We thank Mark for his contribution and wish him well for the future.”
