St James’s Place (SJP) has announced manager changes and charge cuts on two of its funds as part of a drive to add lower cost strategies to its offering.
Northern Trust Global Investments has become sole manager of the £590m Global Smaller Companies fund, with Robert Bergson as lead portfolio manager. SJP announced the external fund manager charge will drop to 0.06% from 0.6% per year.
However, the wealth manager noted the charge would be subject to change with the addition of any new manager in the future.
Robeco Institutional Asset Management will manage the £667m Global Emerging Markets fund. Tim Droge and Han van der Boon have been appointed as lead managers, while the external manager charge has been halved to 0.15%.
SJP executive director of investments Tom Beal (pictured) said the changes are designed to “specifically add lower cost strategies”.
He said: “Active quantitative strategies can be incredibly effective when accessing less covered areas of the market at an attractive price point. This is key to our fundamental belief to offer choice, innovation, and variety to investors of all type.”
The move comes two months after SJP announced it would overhaul its charging structures.
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Meanwhile, Aikya Investment Management has been added to the current line-up of fund managers on the £2.9bn Emerging Markets Equity strategy, which currently consists of ARGA Investment Management, Lazard Asset Management and Wasatch Global Investors.
In contrast to the other fund changes, the external fund manager charge will increase from 0.37% to 0.39% per annum.
Beal added: “The Emerging Market Equity fund is already a top-decile performer among peers over the past five years and this change should help maintain the fund’s strong track record. Aikya is a London-based boutique manager with a dedicated focus on emerging markets. The team’s defensive, quality oriented approach blends especially well with the existing growth and value managers in-situ.”
