Former Schroders duo Paul Marriage (pictured) and John Warren are to launch a UK smaller companies fund at their new boutique firm Tellworth Investments.
The Tellworth UK Smaller Companies fund, which launches in November, will employ the same investment strategy that Marriage and Warren used at Cazenove Capital and Schroders.
Marriage and Warren will use a bottom-up stock selection process to create a portfolio of between 40 and 60 registered and listed UK companies with a market cap ranging from £50m to £2bn. Stocks will be selected based on their growth potential and value.
The fund will sit alongside the team’s £500m Schroders UK Dynamic Absolute Return fund, which they took with them when they set up their own outfit.
Commenting on the launch, Marriage said: “John and I are delighted to be launching this fund and look forward to discovering more UK gems for our clients in the coming years.”
The duo split from the FTSE 100 manager last June to set up their own firm under BennBridge, a multi-boutique investment firm. Marriage had run the Schroders Dynamic UK Smaller Companies fund from 2006 to 2017 with Warren joining in 2010.
While they were lead managers, the fund returned 430.12%, more than double the IA UK Smaller Companies sector’s 199.13%, according to FE.
Their departures prompted a number of fund research houses to downgrade the Schroders fund and boot it from best buy lists with analysts arguing the duo’s investment proposition and track record was central to the success of the fund.
Since the reins were handed to new co-managers Luke Biermann and Iain Staples the Schroders Dynamic UK Smaller Companies fund has lagged peers in the sector, returning -4.46% versus 3.48%.
