Lazard Asset Management has been awarded the mandate to manage the £400m Mid Wynd International Investment Trust.
It takes over from Artemis later this year. Global equity managers Barnaby Wilson and Louis Florentin-Lee will manage the portfolio.
Lazard said the management will be consistent with the Lazard Global Quality Growth Strategy, which launched in 2011.
The firm said it aims to invest in “the best businesses in the world” on behalf of the trust. This encompasses companies with sustainable competitive advantages that are expected to generate consistently high returns on capital and that can reinvest in their business to drive future growth.
Jeremy Taylor, UK CEO, said: “We are honoured to have been appointed as Mid Wynd’s investment manager. We share a commitment to providing consistently excellent returns for our clients.
“Investing in companies with high financial productivity that trade at attractive valuations is a hallmark of our investment approach. We are pleased to be able to bring this to Mid Wynd’s extensive shareholder base and look forward to partnering with Mid Wynd’s Board to deliver strong investment results and increase shareholder value.”
Russell Napier, chairman of Mid Wynd, added: “We are delighted to appoint Lazard and their Global Quality Growth team, headed by Louis Florentin-Lee and Barnaby Wilson, as managers of Mid Wynd. We are impressed by the team’s disciplined approach and the resilience of their relative returns through very different market conditions.
“Identifying those companies that continue to invest at high rates of return for much longer periods than the market anticipates is an approach which the Board believes will continue to reward long-term investors.”
