Sanlam Investments is taking over the management of eight Smith & Williamson Investment Management funds, including the £584m Artificial Intelligence strategy.
In addition to the AI fund, run by Chris Ford, several other equity and fixed interest funds will move across to Sanlam by the end of January, adding £1.2bn to its assets under management. The deal will take Sanlam Investments’ total AUM to £7.3bn.
Three equity funds are moving across: S&W European Equity, S&W North American Equity, and S&W UK Equity Growth, and three fixed income funds: S&W Short Dated Corporate Bond, S&W Fixed Interest, and S&W Global Inflation Linked Bond.
Sanlam will also take on the S&W Enterprise fund, which aims to achieve positive returns on a rolling 12-month basis primarily through the use of equities and contracts for difference (CFDs).
Another fund, Smith & Williamson Global Gold and Resources, will also move to Sanlam later in Q1 but will continue to be managed in Toronto by AGF as sub delegate investment manager.
Ten individuals, including six fund managers, will move across as part of the deal. The six managers are Chris Ford, Tim Day, Giles Worthington, Mark Boucher, Thomas Wells, and Mark Swain.
A press release announcing the move said the transfer of these funds will “enable Sanlam Investments to add further building blocks in its plans to develop a specialist thematic offering”.
Sanlam already runs specialist products such as Mike Pinggera’s Real Assets fund and it recently added a sustainable global dividend team from Martin Currie, as well as Tideway’s Hybrid Capital fund, acquired in April last year.
See also: Mike Pinggera – ‘You’ve got 40% income as opposed to a government bond where you’ll get 1%’
Sanlam UK group chief executive Jonathan Polin (pictured) said: “2020 was a significant year of investment and growth at Sanlam Investments and we are delighted to be taking on eight funds currently managed by Smith & Williamson Investment Management.
“Our asset management arm is a core component of our UK business and today’s announcement reflects our commitment to building a truly comprehensive range of funds and investment solutions for our clients.”
Smith & Williamson Investment Management managing director Hugo Smith said: “This deal provides an excellent opportunity for our fund managers to work within a business that has a well-known pooled funds brand, strong distribution and is committed to investing in further growth in this area.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the fund managers and other colleagues within the funds team for all that they have contributed to Smith & Williamson Investment Management over the years.”
