The change follows a fund range review, during which OMGI concluded that investors in the US Old Mutual Pacific Equity Fund and the Old Mutual Asian Equity Income Fund will benefit from the management of OMGI’s global equities team.
The global equities team is scheduled to take on management of the funds on 18 May 2018.
As a result of this change, Crabb and the Asian equities team will be leaving the business in May to pursue other opportunities.
The firm added that Hong Kong remains a core distribution centre for OMGI going forward.
Management change
Crabb joined OMGI as head of Asian equities in 2014 and works in the firm’s Hong Kong office.
Crabb’s departure follows OMGI’s decision to outsource management of the China Equity Fund to a Hong Kong subsidiary of China’s Ping An Asset Management in March.
The firm described the move as “pragmatic”, as the move could free up the in-house Asian equities team to focus on its core funds.
He has over 20 years’ investment experience, including roles at BlackRock, Hong Kong; Prudential Asset Management Hong Kong; and Bankers Trust, Sydney.
What it means for the funds
Following the change, the investment approach of the two funds will be amended to reflect the systematic investment process employed by OMGI’s global equities team, the firm said.
As a result, stocks will be assessed in terms of the attractiveness of their valuation, quality, price trends, stable growth prospects, sentiment and company management, as opposed to the current bottom-up approach.
There will be no change to either fund’s objective or ongoing fees.
Warren Tonkinson, managing director, OMGI, said: “As a part of our regular fund review process we look to identify opportunities to add value for clients.
“We are confident that investors in the Old Mutual Pacific Equity Fund and the Old Mutual Asian Equity Income Fund will benefit from the vast experience of the global equities team, who have consistently demonstrated outperformance in this asset class.
He added: “We’d like to thank Josh and the team for managing the funds until now and wish them the best for the future.”
