The Cazenove range will be rebranded as 'Schroder MM' funds and moved onto the group's administration platform. Schroders said the move was 'part of the continued integration of the two firms,' following Schroders' acquisition of Cazenove Capital in July last year.
The merger will take place in the second quarter and is still subject to regulatory approval
The change will see the total number of funds reduced from ten to six. All the existing Schroders funds – Cautious Managed, High Alpha and Strategic Balanced – will merge into the former Cazenove funds and the Managed Portfolio fund, originally part of the Cazenove range, will be merged into the Diversity Balanced fund.
All the new funds will be run by the Cazenove multi-manager team of Marcus Brookes, Robin McDonald and Joe Le Jehan. Iain Cunningham, the current manager of the Schroders funds, will stay at the firm as a portfolio manager in the global multi-asset investments and portfolio solutions team.
There has been a marked difference in performance between the two ranges over the past three years. The flagship Cazenove Multi-manager Diversity fund is top quartile, having delivered 22.2%, compared to the IMA mixed-investment 20-60% shares sector average of 15%. The three funds in the Schorders multi-manager range are all bottom quartile over the same period, except the High Alpha fund, which is third quartile (source: Financial Express)
Robin Stoakley, managing director of UK Intermediary at Schroders, said: “A number of advisers in the UK are now outsourcing a significant proportion of portfolio management responsibility. It is a growing trend and one I would expect to see continue, with multimanager as an integral part of it.”
