Effective from 1 July, the appointment, which will see him named as co-fund manager alongside Evy Hambro, is the first change made to the firm’s natural resources equity team since the departure of Catherine Raw at the end of April.
According to BlackRock, the appointment aims to reflect Holl’s “contributions to the funds across the range during his seven years on the team”.
It added that it also serves to bring the two funds in line with both the firm’s team-based approach to research and portfolio management, with the majority of the natural resources equity team’s funds run using a co-manager structure.
While the team is well-resourced, the two funds have struggled in recent years as the resources sector has been battered by low prices and concerns over demand.
Both funds are fourth quartile over one, three and five years. The Gold and General fund is down 62% over five years, compared to a decline of around 31% for the sector according to data from FE Analytics, while the World Gold Fund is down 64% over the same period, compared to a 31% fall for the sector.
