Norwich Union is planning to launch a new fund for investors. The £200m Norwich UK Special Situations fund has been designed exclusively for Norwich Union and will be jointly managed by Richard Buxton, manager of Schroder UK Alpha Plus Fund, and Andy Brough, manager of Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund.
- Top Schroders managers Richard Buxton and Andy Brough to run fund
Norwich Union is planning to launch a new fund for investors. The Ł200m Norwich UK Special Situations fund has been designed exclusively for Norwich Union and will be jointly managed by Richard Buxton, manager of Schroder UK Alpha Plus Fund, and Andy Brough, manager of Schroder UK Mid 250 Fund.
The aim of the Norwich UK Special Situations Fund is to provide long term outperformance of the FTSE All Share. It is a concentrated portfolio of 40 to 60 stocks consisting of the best stock ideas from both managers. Stocks will be selected and position sizes determined independently of index weightings. The fund is scheduled to be launched in late May subject to FSA approval.
Mike Kirsch, commercial and marketing director at Norwich Union, said: “This is an exciting launch for Norwich Union and the fund will appeal to more experienced investors who are prepared to take higher risks in their search for higher returns.
“We have been working very hard to widen the range of our equity investments, and Norwich UK Special Situations will complement our existing product range and the recent launches of the Norwich UK Growth and Value and multi-manager funds.
“Schroders has unquestioned expertise in this area and Richard Buxton and Andy Brough have excellent reputations; they will create focused portfolios that will make the most of their best ideas.”
Robin Stoakley, managing director, UK Retail at Schroders, said: “In an environment where returns from equities are relatively low, there is a high demand from investors for this type of specialised, focus UK equity product. The fund is designed to harness the skills and expertise of two highly-rated and high profile fund managers, who have already established a clear and disciplined investment process that has been used successfully in two existing funds, Schroder UK Alpha Plus and Schroder UK Mid 250 Funds.
“With the strong sales, marketing and distribution capabilities of Norwich Union and Schroders Investment Management expertise this will be a very powerful and competitive proposition.”
The fund launch is part of Norwich Union’s drive to develop its investment range and increase sales of collective investments. In the past 12 months it has:
- Launched the Norwich UK Growth and Value fund, managed by JPMorgan Asset Management
- Appointed James Dalby as head of fund propositions
- Added three fund of funds to its ISA range
- Appointed John Clougherty as director of collective investments sales
- Launched four manager of managers funds
-ends-
Press office contacts:
James Evans 01904 452791 Out of hours 07800 699525
David Gwyer 01904 452828 Out of hours 07800 699508
Louise Soulsby 01904 452617
Schroders press contacts:
Lucy Rae 020 7658 6168
Caroline smith 0207658 3365
Notes to editors
About the Norwich UK Special Situations fund
Fund size: Ł200m. Approximate number of holdings at launch: 50 stocks. IMA sector: UK All Companies. Benchmark: FTSE All Share index. Initial charge: 5%. AMC: 1.2%. TER: 1.75%. Standard initial commission: 3%. Standard renewal commission: 0.5%. Investment levels for ISA investors: lumps sums Ł500, regular monthly savings Ł50.
Investment Objective
To provide long term capital growth by investing primarily in a focused portfolio of UK companies.
Investment Policy
Investment primarily in equity securities listed or traded on regulated markets in the UK. The fund may also invest in companies domiciled or quoted outside the UK where those companies have material or critical operations within, or derive significant business from, the UK. Fixed interest securities may be included in the portfolio. The fund may invest in any of the following financial instruments in order to achieve its investment objective: transferable securities, money market instruments, units in collective investment schemes, deposits and derivatives and forward transactions
About the fund managers
The funds will be managed by Andy Brough, manager of the Schroder UK Mid 250 fund, and Richard Buxton, manager of Schroder UK Alpha Plus fund.
Andy Brough’s fund is 1st quartile over 1, 3 and 5 years and his fund is AAA rated by S&P and OBSR. Richard Buxton’s fund is 1st quartile over 1 and 3 years. It is AA rated by S&P, and A rated by OBSR.
About Schroders Plc
Schroders is a global asset management company with Ł122.5 ($211.0 / €178.2) billion under management as at 31 December 2005. Its clients are major financial institutions including banks and insurance companies, local and public authorities, charities, pension funds, high net worth individuals and retail investors.
Its aim is to apply specialist asset management skills in serving the needs of clients worldwide and in delivering value to our shareholders. With one of the largest networks of offices of any dedicated asset management company and over 250 portfolio managers and analysts covering the world's investment markets, we offer clients a comprehensive range of products and services.
Further information about Schroders can be found at www.schroders.com. Issued by Schroder Investment Management Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority. For regular updates by e-mail please register online at www.schroders.com for our alerting service.
About Norwich Union
Norwich Union is one of the UK's biggest life insurers. It is a leading provider of life, pensions and investment products and one of the largest Financial Adviser (FA) providers. FAs provide over 70% of the company's long-term savings business in the UK.
Norwich Union has strategic alliances with building societies and other leading UK brand names including CIS and The Royal Bank of Scotland Group. Norwich Union’s news releases and a selection of images are available from Aviva's internet press centre at www.aviva.com/media