Veritas Asset Management is making several changes to its staff structure and adding a global emerging markets (GEM) equities strategy to its line-up from next year.
The boutique asset manager said the new GEM strategy will launch at some point in 2019 but did not provide any further information on exactly when.
The new strategy will be managed by Ramesh Narayanaswamy and sit alongside Veritas’ existing global and Asian equity strategies. The firm runs six funds: the Asian fund, China fund, Global Equity Income fund, Global Focus fund, Global Real Return fund and the Izoard fund.
Narayanaswamy, who joined Veritas in 2012, is described as a “roving analyst” on the firm’s website. In addition to the new GEM strategy, he will continue to work with both the global team and the Asian team, led by managing partner Ezra Sun.
Before joining Veritas, Narayanaswamy was an analyst and sector portfolio manager at Fidelity Investments between 2007 and 2012. He co-founded a software start-up in India prior to that.
Richardson to step down from portfolio management
Veritas has also announced fund manager on the global strategies and managing partner, Charles Richardson (pictured), is to retire from day-to-day fund management on 1 January 2020. He has decided to step down to focus on his role as executive chairman.
Head of global equities, Andy Headley, will continue to run the Global Focus and Global Real Return strategies as lead manager. Richardson will be Headley’s alternate manager until the end of 2019.
Richardson will also work with Ian Clark on the Global Income fund until the end of 2019, at which point Clark will take over as lead manager with Headley as alternate.
Richardson is one of five founding partners who launched the Veritas real return group in 2003. Before joining Veritas, he was vice chairman, chief investment officer and fund manager at Newton Investment Management from 1993. Before that, he was a director and head of UK equities at County NatWest Investment Management from 1986.
Partner promotion
Elsewhere, Veritas has promoted head of marketing and product specialist Antony Burgess to managing partner, effective from 1 January 2019.
Richardson said: “We continue to focus on investment and our clients, adapting and developing our proposition and people while at the same time maintaining our philosophy and culture.”
