Paul Schofield has been appointed lead manager of the £7bn Royal London Global Equity Diversified fund, in addition to four new hires across the firm’s equity team.
He takes over from CIO Piers Hillier, who will continue in his role as head of global equities at Royal London Asset Management (RLAM). Schofield will be supported by current deputy manager Matt Burgess, as well as Finn Provan.
The new lead manager moves to RLAM from Goldman Sachs, which he joined when his previous firm, NN Investment, was acquired in 2022.
Schofield worked as co-head of global equity, where he managed sustainable and impact portfolios such as the Dutch Goldman Sachs Duurzaam Aandelen Fonds (or Sustainable Equity fund). He ran the €887m (£748m) fund since 2021 and generated a 34.2% return under his leadership.
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New hires at the firm also include Max Newman, who will support lead manager Richard Marwood on Royal London’s £1.3bn UK Equity Income fund and £1.2bn UK Dividend Growth funds.
Newman joins from Atmos Wealth, where he worked as an equity specialist since June last year. Prior to that he’d spent almost three years as a portfolio manager at Julius Baer, and six years as an investment associate – and latterly research manager – for Hurley Partners.
Hillier said the two new fund managers had “many years of expertise in equity and people management” that made them an “excellent fit” for RLAM’s growing equities team.
“Royal London Asset Management’s strategy remains focused on growing our investment capabilities while also delivering good long-term outcomes for clients and providing outstanding customer service,” he added.
In addition to these hires, RLAM also bolstered its equities team with three new analysts.
