Neil Hermon will retire from Janus Henderson in September after 23 years managing UK equity funds for the firm.
He runs its UK Alpha and UK Smaller Companies funds, as well as the Henderson Smaller Companies trust, which have combined assets under management of £1bn.
Hermon has been lead manager on the investment trust since 2002 and delivered a 1410% return under his tenure, beating the Numis Smaller Companies benchmark and IT UK Smaller Companies by 633.5 and 428.8 percentage points respectively.
See also: Rathbones chief executive Paul Stockton to retire in September
He will be succeeded by deputy manager Indriatti Van Hien, who has managed the trust alongside Hermon since 2016.
The trust’s chair Penny Freer said she was “extremely grateful” for Hermon’s two decades of managing the trust and wished Van Hien luck in her new role.
“Having worked closely with Indriatti for the last nine years, the board has every confidence that her significant experience and proven expertise will continue to be a huge asset to the company following Neil’s retirement,” Freer added.
See also: Janus Henderson introduces Global Smaller Companies fund for UK
Matthew Read, senior research analyst and head of production at QuotedData, said Hermon is a staple of UK smaller companies investing after his years specialising in the asset class.
“Neil Hermon is a well-known and well-regarded manager UK small-cap equity space, who, after 22 years at the helm, has become synonymous with Henderson Smaller Companies. We wish him well in his retirement.”