They will be replaced by Andrew Jackson who managed the top quartile performing Ecclesiastical (now EdenTree) UK Equity Growth Fund from November 2003 until his departure last summer. In that time the fund returned 263 per cent which compares favourably with the sector average return of 153 per cent. In the decade prior to his departure, it was the 12th best performing fund out of 164, producing a total return of 190 per cent, significantly outperforming the sector average return of 102 per cent.
Mr Jackson joins Miton on Monday, 27 June and his appointment can’t come a day too soon given that in the month after news of Mr Godber and Ms Hamilton’s departures broke, assets under management in the CF UK Value Opportunities Fund declined from £869m to £589m, implying fund outflows of around £250m after accounting for market movements. The CF UK Value Opportunities Fund cash levels have risen from 4.6 per cent to 16.1 per cent, implying a current cash position of £95m. The flagship fund generated £5m of Miton’s revenues last year and accounted for 29 per cent of the group’s £3.03bn assets under management (AUM) at the end of March 2016. Having attracted the highest funds inflows in the IA UK All Companies sector over the past 12 months, the fund’s assets under management are now back to where they were at the start of 2016.