Included in the rebrand, set to complete by the end of the year, will be the F&C Navigator and F&C Lifestyle multi-manager fund ranges, run by a nine-strong team, led by Gary Potter and Rob Burdett.
However, the £3.5bn F&C Investment Trust, which celebrated its 150th birthday earlier this year, will keep its name, as will Pyrford International, one of the boutique investment managers operating within BMO GAM, a spokesperson confirmed to Portfolio Adviser.
Given the closed-ended structure of investment trusts, any name change would be a decision for the F&C Investment Trust’s board and shareholders, PA understands.
F&C was acquired by the Bank of Montreal in 2014 in a £708m deal, forming BMO GAM, and F&C’s sales and distribution businesses rebranded as BMO in June 2015. New product launches since then have carried the BMO GAM name.
Since 2015 the company has expanded across Europe, Middle East and Asia, opening seven offices in six countries.
David Logan, head of distribution at BMO GAM (pictured), said: “Having more of our global and local capabilities under a single brand helps us to deliver on that as well as further simplifying the way we communicate with clients across all of our regions.”
Sad but necessary
Shore Financial Planning director Ben Yearsley described the news as a “bit of a surprise” but said the firm wouldn’t suffer from ditching a “tarnished brand”.
He said: “It’s a long-standing and well-known brand which consumers actually know – that’s a bit of a rarity in financial services. However, apart from a few small pockets, F&C hasn’t been known for stellar performance for a while, therefore it could be argued it’s a tarnished brand and it’s time to ditch it.”
But Yearsley added that in the adviser world the name is largely irrelevant.
“Advisers should be more interested in what funds do and how they perform,” he added. “They’ll spend a lot of money rebranding with no benefit to the end investors.”
Chelsea Financial Services managing director Darius McDermott said F&C losing its brand is sad due to its history.
But, he added: “Times move on and we are in an increasingly global world. The main thing for investors is the mangers and the funds themselves and brand change should have no impact on that.”
