Morley Fund Management (‘Morley’) has been appointed to manage a £200 million (€320 million) balanced mandate for Nationwide Investment Group. This makes Morley the exclusive manager of the Nationwide Balanced Fund (unit trust) from 1 October 2002.
Morley Fund Management (‘Morley’) has been appointed to manage a Ł200 million (€320 million) balanced mandate for Nationwide Investment Group. This makes Morley the exclusive manager of the Nationwide Balanced Fund (unit trust) from 1 October 2002.
Morley was chosen for its expertise in asset allocation as well as its stock selection resources. Asset allocation is of paramount importance to a fund of this nature and Morley’s top-down approach is expected to continue to contribute to out-performance.
Morley’s experienced strategy and economics team decides the top-down asset allocation based on a model portfolio which is generally split: 50% UK equities, 35% overseas equities and 15% fixed interest. On a bottom-up level, Morley’s offices in London and overseas provide local expertise to identify the right stock-picking opportunities. The investment process is overseen by Gerald Holtham, Chief Investment Officer.
Malcolm Le May, Deputy CEO and Managing Director, Europe at Morley Fund Management, said: “We are delighted that Morley has been selected for this mandate from Nationwide Investment Group. The appointment recognises our asset allocation skills which allow Morley to add value relative to the benchmark and on top of traditional stock picking returns. This is a significant piece of ‘white label’ business for us and builds on our strategy to develop new third party wholesale/retail business outside the traditional Aviva family of funds marketed under the Norwich Union brand.”
Mark Jenkins, Managing Director at Nationwide Investment Group, said: “We chose Morley because of their strength in asset allocation and the global reach of their fund management team. Morley’s size, experience and expertise, which have already been used with great success by major pension schemes, are now also available to individual Nationwide customers through investment in our Balanced Fund. We look forward to a successful relationship with Morley.”
Morley joins a roster of four other fund managers responsible for managing Nationwide’s range of unit trusts on behalf of retail investors.
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For further information please contact: Fiona Baker, Head of Corporate Communications 0207 809 8617
Notes to Editors
Morley Fund Management
- Morley Fund Management (‘Morley’) is an independently managed, London based, asset management business with over €166 billion (Ł104 bn) under management (as at 30.06.02). It actively manages a diverse range of asset classes and has investment management operations in London, Tokyo and Singapore and an associate office in Boston*.
- Morley is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Aviva Group and manages both institutional and retail funds under the Morley brand. It also acts as investment manager for a range of retail investment funds, marketed in the UK by Norwich Union, and international funds marketed under the Privilege Portfolio brand.
Awards
Fund Manager of the Year - Pensions Week Awards 2002
Specialist Manager of the Year - UK Pensions Awards 2002
Insurance Fund Manager of the Year (awarded to Norwich Union) - Standard and Poor’s 2002
Sustainable and Ethical Investment and Asset Management Award - Liveable City Awards 2002
*Norwich Union Investment Management, an Aviva Group company
- Further information about Morley Fund Management can be found at www.morleyfm.com
Issued by Morley Fund Management Limited and Morley Investment Services Limited.
Morley Fund Management is a business name of Morley Fund Management Limited, registered in England No. 1151805 and Morley Investment Services Limited, registered in England No. 1973412. Both are members of the Norwich Union Marketing Group, members of which are regulated in the UK by the Financial Services Authority for life assurance, pensions and investments. Morley Investment Services Limited is a member of the Investment Management Association. Registered Offices: No. 1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EJ. Both are Aviva companies.
For institutional correspondence please contact us at Morley Fund Management, No 1 Poultry, London EC2R 8EJ, for retail correspondence please contact us at Morley Fund Management, PO Box 6056, Basildon SS15 5UU.