Asset manager Miton has appointed top-performing manager Andrew Jackson to run CF Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund (GB00B8QW1M42), as its managers Georgina Hamilton and George Godber are leaving to go to Polar Capital. Mr Jackson used to work at Ecclesiastical Investment Management, now known as EdenTree.
Mr Jackson ran EdenTree UK Equity Growth Fund (GB0008445982) between November 2003 and July 2015, over which time the fund returned 263.7 per cent against the Investment Association UK All Companies sector average of 153.3 per cent, and 151.5 per cent for the FTSE All Share Index. Mr Jackson left Edentree in July 2015.
He will take over CF Miton UK Value Opportunities after the departure of Mr Godber and Ms Hamilton, under whose management this fund grew its assets from £211m to £589.6m.
The Miton managers' departure to boutique Polar Capital follows a period of impressive performance: over three years the fund has returned 54.3 per cent, far outpacing the UK All Companies sector return of 12.3 per cent. Their departure caused concerns but Mr Jackson has over 23 years' experience as a UK equities manager, in particular with UK small and mid-caps, and has proved adept at finding under-researched and under-valued opportunities.
Gervais Williams, managing director at Miton, said: "Andrew has all of the strengths for the role, including a record of impressive returns over an extended period. He is very well suited to taking a leadership role on the CF Miton UK Value Opportunities Fund, given the fund already has a history of delivering attractive returns, with stock weightings that are largely independent of the mainstream indices."
