Nichols joined F&C in June 2011 as director of European equities, which is a title customarily given to senior fund managers at the company.
He is not therefore a direct replacement for Anand, whose departure was announced in September, as there are three other directors of European equities in the team.
F&C said it is yet to be decided if a new head of European equities will be appointed.
In the meantime, Nichols will run the Growth and Income Fund, while Sam Cosh has taken over management of the European Assets Investment Trust which Anand used to run.
Despite its announcement today, Nichols’ appointment to the fund took effect on 1 November.
Prior to joining F&C Nichols was a principle and senior analyst at Oechsle International Advisors where he helped manage European and EAFE long-only equity mandates.
He began his career in 2001 on the European retail team at Invesco.
