After 10 years working in Schroders’ structured fund management team, Kirk will join Premier to manage the fund alongside Chris White, Premier’s current head of UK equities and manager of the Premier Monthly Income and Income funds.
The pair will take over running the fund from its current manager Chris Wright, who has managed it since 2013, and who will continue to run Premier’s Ethical Fund.
White will focus on the management of the UK equity portfolio of the Premier Optimum Income Fund, using the same income and value focused investment approach employed on his other UK equity income funds.
Kirk will focus on total dividend management through a call option overlay strategy.
Mike O’Shea, Premier’s chief executive said: “The search for yield is an enduring investor theme and we believe that the Premier Optimum Income Fund, paying an enhanced yield to investors through a mix of traditional company dividends and a well-managed options strategy, is well placed to help income-seeking investors.
“We are delighted Geoff is joining Premier and we are excited about the next phase for this fund under the co-management of Chris White and Geoff, with their strong track record of managing UK equity income funds and as an experienced structured fund management specialist.”
After a period as a senior portfolio analyst at State Street Global Advisers, Kirk joined Schroders’ structured fund management team.
He was also part of the team responsible for managing its Income Maximiser range and specialises in OTC single stock option trading, execution and counterparty management and adding derivative yield to enhanced income funds.
