Yesterday Principle Investment Management released its 2012 Income Study, with the Henderson Higher Income Fund one of two Henderson funds to be featured on the Black List, which indicates the fund has consistently underperformed.
The move to restructure it is part of a larger consolidation of Henderson’s fund range, which it said is the final stint to be undertaken after the acquisitions of New Star and Gartmore.
The Higher Income Fund was one of two to be renamed and restructured, while 12 other funds are proposed for mergers – five in May and seven in July.
Restructures
From 8 May the Henderson Higher Income Fund will be renamed the Henderson Global Equity Income Fund and move from the IMA UK Equity Income Sector to the Global Equity Income Sector.
The fund will still be managed by Ben Lofthouse and Andrew Jones, but will have a broader universe for seeking yield.
Also to be restructured is the Henderson Diversified Absolute Return Fund, which will become the Henderson Multi-Manager Diversified Fund and will reside in the Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares Sector from 30 March.
It will continue to be managed by Bill McQuaker and Paul Craig and will offer an option of income or accumulation.
Henderson said that dropping the absolute return mandate from the fund was nothing to do with distancing it fund from the bad press surrounding the sector and its lack of fulfilment of its targeted returns.
"Putting it in the Mixed Investment 0-35% Shares Sector means we now have a fund in all the managed sectors and the 0-35% sector is going to be a popular one. We still have the absolute return element in a suite of fund we brought over from Gartmore, but this fund does not lend itself to an absolute return mandate.
Mergers
The rationale behind the 12 other mergers is the completion of taking "three companies worth of funds and rationalising them", the spokesperson added.
The acquisition of Gartmore, which completed in April 2011, brought over approximately £15bn in AUM, while New Star’s AUM was around £8bn when Henderson took it over in April 2009. As at 30 September 2011 Henderson had £65.4bn AUM.
For details of all the merged funds, click here.
