The move follows the March 2010 announcement that Martin Taylor and Nick Barnes, managers of the Global Emerging Market Fund, are to step down at the beginning of next year. Formerly part of Thames River, Nevsky was demerged from the group prior to its acquisition by F&C earlier this year.
As of 31 October 2010, the soft-closed GEM fund had some $3.16bn in assets, but F&C has stressed that the size of the fund could be very different by the time it assumes management responsibilities.
“As these are open-ended funds and redemptions are expected ahead of the handover there can be no certainty over the level of assets that will migrate to the group,” F&C said in a statement.
A spokesperson for F&C added that such issues meant no decision had yet been made on whether the GEM fund would re-open to new investors, nor whether it would continue to exist as a stand-alone entity.
Michael Sell, manager of the Emerging Asian Fund, which has $179m in assets as of 31 October, will join F&C’s emerging equities team when the assets are migrated on 1 February.
