Merian Chrysalis has decided not to take up the Jupiter moniker as it rebrands, months after being snapped up by the rival fund house.
On Thursday the board unveiled a proposal to change the trust’s name to Chrysalis Investments Limited following Merian’s acquisition by fellow fund group Jupiter.
Shareholders will vote to approve the name change at an extraordinary general meeting on 18 December.
The £462m trust is the latest product in Merian’s stable to announce a name change after the fund group was absorbed by Jupiter in July. But unlike the asset manager’s raft of Oeics, which are due to rebrand early next year, its sole closed-ended fund will not take Jupiter’s name.
See also: Jupiter replaces several Merian fund managers with its own as it unveils fresh range
Not adding Jupiter name ‘a very good call’
Willis Owen head of personal investing Adrian Lowcock said while the decision to drop the Merian label is not a surprise, not adding the Jupiter name is an “interesting choice”.
“I think it’s actually a very good call,” Lowcock said. “It gives more focus to the key purpose of the trust and investors can really concentrate on Chrysalis and what that actually means, which given the nature of the companies the trust invests in, is very important.”
Chrysalis, which is run by Merian small and mid-cap managers Richard Watts (pictured) and Nick Williamson, targets later stage private companies in the UK and Europe with long-term growth potential.
Its top 10 holdings which account for more than 90% of net asset value include online payments maker Transferwise, e-commerce business The Hut Group and platform Embark.
In October, the trust raised £95m which it funnelled into US branding business You & Mr Jones, its first holding outside the UK and Europe.
In the year-to-date, Chrysalis is top of the four-strong IT Growth Capital sector, returning 17.1% compared to the average -1%.
Its shares are currently trading at a 4.9% premium to NAV, according to data from the Association of Investment Companies.
See also: Merian Chrysalis aims to soon be self funding as it raises £95m in latest placing
