In the hours following the announcement that Legget was drawing the curtain on his 13-year Standard Life career, the whispering around the star manager’s next destination got progressively louder until all was revealed.
Legget will be joining Artemis as a partner, as well as taking over the Artemis UK Growth Fund and replacing current manager Tim Steer, who is retiring from the partnership at the end of 2015.
But, given the differences between both the funds and – more pertinently – the managers’ styles, is it the right move?
Rob Burdett, co-head of multi-asset at F&C Asset Management, believes that each manager has proved themselves to be consistently strong performers over the years, and thus there should be a smooth handover.
He said: “Steer made his name with a forensic accountant type of approach, looking at companies’ balance sheets and profit and loss, while Legget will probably want to carry on with his own style.
“Steer’s style is very distinctive, but Legget has proved himself with his own style so he is unlikely to drop it.
“It should be a relatively quick and clean hand-over, with Legget slotting in and doing his own thing. Artemis has a good range of UK managers, all with their own distinctive style, so that should not be an issue for Legget.”
Legget’s numbers speak for themselves; having entered the fund management arena in October 2006, other than during the financial crisis, he has consistently bettered the sector average, earning his star manager status on the back of a meteoric rise in returns since 2012.
To date, Legget’s 193.74% return – 129.3% of which was over the past three years – is more than treble that of his peers.
During his tenure at the helm of the SLI UK Equity Unconstrained Fund, he returned 202.97% between April 2008 and his recently-announced departure.
Still, as capable as a manager may be, when it comes to shifting base there is often a need for an acclimatisation period. Artemis has announced that Steer will be staying on to assist Legget in his takeover of the fund.
