Richard Buxton’s fund and 20 others to see Merian name dropped in Jupiter rebrand

Richard Buxton’s £805m fund is among a slew of funds to drop the Merian moniker as Jupiter brings the products in line with its existing range following a brand refresh.

Around 20 of Merian’s branded products will adopt the Jupiter prefix and branding with immediate effect.

Buxton’s (pictured) UK Alpha fund is among the vehicles that will shed the Merian badge and come under the Jupiter banner.

Richard Watts’ £3.4bn UK Mid Cap fund and Nick Williamson’s £304.4m UK Smaller Companies Focus fund will also see Merian axed from their fund titles. The board of Chrysalis Investments Limited, the trust run by Williamson and Watt, had already decided not to take up the Jupiter moniker.

However, 14 funds will hold onto the Merian name in some capacity. Eight funds in Merian’s Systematic Equity range, headed by Ian Heslop and Amadeo Alentorn, will be rebranded as ‘Jupiter Merian’, including the pair’s $1.6bn Global Equity Absolute Return fund.

Where there is overlap with other Jupiter products, like in the case of Merian Asian Equity Income and Jason Pidcock’s Jupiter Asian Income fund, the ‘Merian’ moniker will be kept.

Jupiter described the renaming of the Merian funds as one of the “final milestones in the creation of a single unified business operating solely under the Jupiter brand”.

Before its acquisition of Merian in July, Jupiter had already unveiled a refreshed fund range which saw it replace several Merian managers with its own and mulling fund closures.

Hybrid Jupiter/Merian brand has the potential to confuse

But AJ Bell head of active portfolios Ryan Hughes said the rationale behind Jupiter’s decision to keep the Merian brand for certain funds and not others isn’t entirely clear.

“It certainly has the potential to confuse and I’m not clear as to what the long-term brand value is of having these mixed messages,” he said.

Though Hughes said it makes sense for Jupiter to keep the Merian label where products overlap, this begs the question why the newly merged fund group needs to have two similar strategies.

See also: Jupiter faces ‘obvious’ fund mergers in Asian and European equities

Over time he expects to see a “slimmer product range” from Jupiter as it axes duplicate funds and products which have struggled to grow assets.

“Ultimately the real value comes from can these products deliver rather than what they’re called,” Hughes said. “I think Jupiter have got a bit of work still to get that fund range in a nice, tidy shape that properly leverages their scale.”

See also: Jupiter dual fund closures hailed as ‘sensible’ move amid value for money push

A Jupiter spokesperson said the idea behind the joint Jupiter/Merian brand was to help clients distinguish the Systematic Equity range as a sub-brand, similar to the Jupiter Merlin multi-manager range.

“The strategy of that team is very distinct, so this branding is really a way of differentiating that range from other (current and future) more fundamental global and regional equity funds,” they said.

New visual identity builds on Jupiter’s longstanding heritage

Alongside the Merian fund name changes Jupiter has launched a new website “with a refreshed visual identity”.

Its logo has been updated and all fund collateral, including advertising, has also undergone a refresh.

“We are delighted to have completed this project, making it clear that we are now one business with one brand, moving forward as one,” Jupiter global distribution boss Phil Wagstaff said.

“The Jupiter brand has a long heritage. While the essence of the brand hasn’t changed, we believe that this new visual identity builds on this established heritage while also reflecting the active, innovative, international asset management firm we are today.”

Last month Jupiter revealed it plans on making up to 90 staff redundant in order to position the firm for growth.

A full list of the updated fund names is included below.

Source: Jupiter