While the Board of the Fidelity Special Values investment trust took the decision to replace Shah, the move was made “in accordance with his wishes” as reported in the company’s formal announcement to the stock exchange this morning.
Wright is a Fidelity man of ten years’ standing and has managed the £50m Fidelity UK Smaller Companies Fund since it was launched in February 2008. The trust is already mandated to invest across the UK cap scale and likely to have a bias towards the small and mid-cap range, though with Wright’s appointment this bias is expected to be more marked.
Shah will now work full-time on the Special Situations Fund which has had a tough time since he took over its management four-and-a-half years ago, on 2 January 2008. The fund is fourth quartile over one and three years, having been second quartile over five years and top quartile over ten. It is also top quartile since launch in December 1979.
When he inherited the fund, Shah managed £2.7bn which fell steadily through the crisis and into Q1 2009. He reached a high of £3.1bn in Q4 2012 and leaves Wright with £2.3bn to work with.
Wright’s Smaller Companies Fund has gradually built up assets since it was changed from the UK Opportunities Fund, with £15m in assets, at the end of 2008.
The change takes effect on 1 September.
