As manager of the BlackRock UK Special Situations Fund, Plackett's role will be taken over in the interim by Roland Arnold who has co-managed the fund since 2012.
Plackett also manages the Contracts for Difference (CFD) portfolio of the company's Throgmorton Trust, and is also lead manager of the Emerging Companies Hedge Fund. The CFD portfolio represents some 29% of the company’s net asset, as of 30 January 2014.
In the interim, Ralph Cox will be taking over the company’s CFD portfolio. Cox has been manager of the UK Smaller Companies Fund since August 2007 and has worked alongside Plackett. He has also been co-manager of the Emerging Hedge Fund since May 2004. He will be supported by Dan Whitestone, a senior member of the UK Small/Mid Cap equity team.
The CFD portfolio aims to enhance returns through an actively managed portfolio of long/short positions, representing 30% of net assets. As a result, the fund’s overall gross exposure is typically 130% of net assets, although effective gearing is less than 30% as some of the CFD portfolio is represented by short positions.
Richard Plackett has made it clear that he intends to return to his role at BlackRock following the break in October.
“We do not expect the change in manager to have a significant impact on the way the portfolios are run during Richard Plackett’s sabbatical. BlackRock's UK small/mid cap team benefits from a well resourced, experienced team, and has a well established investment approach,” Numis Securities said.
