After managing the fund for nearly a decade, he will now focus solely on managing pan-European portfolios while James Sym takes over the fund. Sym will continue to manage the £333m European Alpha Income Fund in addition to the European Alpha Plus Fund, on which the investment philosophy remains unchanged.
The European Alpha Plus Fund has seen a cumulative performance of 3.1% over the past year, compared to the IMA Europe excluding UK sector weighting of 15.6%, according to FE Analytics.
In reaction to the fund manager change, Bestinvest announced that it is suspending its rating on the European Alpha Plus Fund. According to the investment platform, Sym is likely to bring his own particular management style, which has a greater business cycle focus.
“Given the change of manager and an anticipated shift in the management style of the Schroder European Alpha Plus Fund, we are suspending the rating on the fund, pending a full review once the incoming manager is in place," said Ben Seager-Scott, senior research analyst.
Meanwhile, Schroders also announced that Peter Harrison will take on the newly created role of head of investment, having been promoted from his current appointment as global head of equities at the firm.
Nicky Richards is due to step in as new head of equities, replacing Harrison. Formerly CEO and CIO at MLC Investment Management in Australia, Richards will start her new role later this month.
