Effective 1 October, the change sees Colwell, who has co-managed the fund with Harrison since 2010, take on the running of the £3.3bn mandate as lead manager.
Harrison will subsequently take on a deputy manager berth on a fund that he has been at the helm of for almost a decade, but will retain his responsibilities as co-manager on the UK Equity Alpha Income and UK Overseas Earnings vehicles.
Columbia Threadneedle said that the move has been in the pipeline since 2010, and is designed to reward Colwell’s work during the past five years rather than reflecting on Harrison’s performance.
“This recognises Richard’s outstanding track record and experience in UK equity income management and gives greater accountability for the management of the strategy,” said a statement from the firm.
“As a member of the UK equity income team and deputy manager of the fund, Leigh Harrison will continue to be actively involved in the strategy.”
Since Harrison took over in February 2006, Threadneedle UK Equity Income has returned 96.8% against a sector average of 61.57%. However, prior to Colwell arriving as co-manager it delivered around 14% return, whereas in the subsequent period it returned 73.08% to date.
Even so, Daniel Vaughan, senior manager research analyst at Morningstar UK, believes that other than the switch in titles, it will be business as usual at the Threadneedle UK Equity Income desk.
“The only surprise is that Columbia Threadneedle did not make the change a bit sooner,” he said. “It has been clear since Colwell arrived that he was going to be instrumental in the stock selection and very involved in the day-to-day management. Colwell is an experienced in his own right and has a great track record from previous houses and has done a fantastic job working with Harrison, so he is the ideal guy to step in.
“Harrison will still be sitting on the desk and so can carry on giving his macro input, while Colwell can get along with picking the stocks. We are very comfortable with the change.”
