Benjamin Moore, managing director within the BlackRock European team, will take over as portfolio manager of the £476m BlackRock Greater Europe investment trust with immediate effect, according to a recent announcement from the firm.
Moore will replace current portfolio manager and head of European equities Stefan Gries, who will be leaving the industry to focus on “personal health issues”.
Andrew Impey, chair of the trust, said: “At this time the board’s thoughts are with Stefan and it wishes him well for the future and for his recovery.”
Under Gries’ tenure (starting from 20 June 2017), the BlackRock Greater European trust has delivered an 80.9% total return for investors in sterling terms according to FE fundinfo. This outpaced the IT Europe sector average of 59.1% over this period, but slightly underperformed the FTSE World Europe, which was up 92.4%.
Moore will be supported by Brian Hall, who joined the trust in November 2025, and the wider BlackRock European Fundamental Equity team.
See also: BlackRock Greater Europe to add value stocks as growth style lags
Moore has been with the BlackRock team since January, having previously spent more than 11 years at Columbia Threadneedle, where he ran the CT European Select fund for six years. Previously, he was an analyst at Goldman Sachs, primarily focused on European mid-cap companies.
Impey said: “The board has conviction in the quality and breadth of resource provided by BlackRock’s European Fundamental Equity team, and is pleased to welcome a portfolio manager of Benjamin’s calibre as Stefan’s replacement.”
See also: Q&A with BlackRock’s Stefan Gries: A ‘capex renaissance’ and the appeal of Danish companies
