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Asset manager Jupiter has poached a team of fund managers overseeing £800mn of global equities from a smaller rival in a bid to cut its reliance on UK stocks, which have fallen out of favour in recent years.
The FTSE 250 asset manager has recruited the investment team from Origin, a London-based investment boutique focused on global equities, including emerging markets. As part of the deal, about £800mn of assets will be transferred to Jupiter.
The move comes as Jupiter battles to cut costs and widen its range of assets. Like its mid-sized UK rivals, Jupiter’s business model has been undermined by the rise of cheaper, passive investing as well as UK investors wanting to diversify out of the London market.
The £800mn of assets Jupiter is acquiring as part of the Origin deal include funds from institutions in Europe, Canada, and Australia.
The Origin team joining Jupiter is led by Tarlock Randhawa and manages global emerging markets strategies as well as global smaller companies funds and international stocks. Origin was bought in 2011 by US firm Principal, which runs more than $500bn in assets.
Kiran Nandra, head of equities at Jupiter, said the deal meant Jupiter could start offering funds focused on global smaller companies while boosting its emerging markets exposure. Origin’s Randhawa said “the transition for our existing clients will be seamless”.
The decision to recruit the Origin team comes as Nick Payne, Jupiter’s lead investment manager for global emerging market equities, plans to leave the asset manager.
Matthew Beesley, chief executive of Jupiter, told the Financial Times over the summer that he was seeking to make “bolt-on” acquisitions but ruled out larger deals.
Jupiter manages about £50bn in assets, of which £42bn is on behalf of individual investors.
The asset manager, which counts Silchester among its largest shareholders, acquired Merian Global Investors in 2020 for £370mn under Jupiter’s previous chief executive Andrew Formica.
One of Jupiter’s top fund managers, Ben Whitmore, is set to leave at the end of the month. Whitmore, who was managing about £10bn for Jupiter, is leaving to set up his own firm.
Jupiter has poached Alex Savvides from JO Hambro Capital Management to manage Jupiter’s UK Special Situations fund.