The World Leaders Fund, run by Kirill Pyshkin since April last year after Simon Clements former head of global equities departed, will now be called Aviva Investors Global Equity Income Fund.
It will follow the same investment process and objectives of the Irish fund, a strategy offered by Aviva Investors since 2001.
Last year Aviva Investors went through a tumultous time, as it tried to streamline and re-focus the business.
Conflicting statements from the firm first seemed to suggest it was turning away from the retail market, although the crucial exception to that move was in the UK it later clarified.
Pyshkin started running the Irish income-focused mandate in 2010, so has a three-year track record at the helm and total AUM in the strategy is £1bn.
Low turnover/high conviction
His target is to generate yield 25% above the MSCI World Index. Pyshkin said the Irish fund has had 40 stocks over the past 10 years, giving it a “concentrated portfolio of conviction ideas”.
Turnover in the strategy is also low and averages out at about one trade per month, Pyshkin added.
Each time he has a buy idea he has to sell a stock and Pyshkin never buys holdings in a firm without meeting them first.
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Until now the former World Leaders Fund (see chart above) has a global growth mandate, but Aviva considers its expertise to be in the income sector, with UK and US equity income offerings completing the range.
Following its restructure last year the company has decided to focus on its core strengths in the UK retail space – equity income, multi-asset, multi-manager and property – as opposed to offering everything in the market, Pyshkin explained.
Aviva Investors expanded and relabelled its Justin Onuekwusi-run multi-asset range last year, adding two extra funds.
The company’s UK and US equity income offerings were launched in 1989 and 2011 respectively, with the UK fund managed by Chris Murphy and the US strategy run by Henry Sanders and Thomas Forsha.
