Jupiter Asset Management has announced that Ben Whitmore, the current manager of the Jupiter UK Special Situations Fund (assets under management – AUM – of £2.1bn), Jupiter Income Trust (AUM £1.6bn), Jupiter Global Value Unit Trust (AUM £1.0bn) and Jupiter Global Value SICAV (AUM £0.5bn), and segregated mandates with a further £4.8bn of AUM – including part of the Alliance Trust portfolio – intends to leave in order to pursue his ambition of establishing an independent value equities boutique in due course, subject to obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals. He will remain with Jupiter until at least the end of July 2024, during which time there will be an orderly and collaborative transition process with his successors in relation to the Jupiter assets he currently manages.
The team at Willis Towers Watson, who oversee Alliance Trust’s portfolio said:
“Given the degree of corporate change, we have been closely monitoring the situation at Jupiter for some time, as we do with all of our stock pickers. One of WTW’s key roles is to regularly consider what we would do in the portfolio should we need to make a change as a result of events such as this. We are currently considering specifically what actions to take in relation to the Alliance Trust portfolio. These options include retaining Jupiter, moving with Ben to his new organisation, hiring one or more replacement managers or simply redistributing the capital among existing managers. In the meantime, we have no doubt that Ben’s allocation will continue to be managed by him with skill and integrity, noting that he is highly motivated to perform well in advance of starting his own firm. One of the big benefits of the multi-manager structure is that there can be a change of circumstances at one firm without it disrupting the whole portfolio.”
ATST : Alliance Trust monitoring the situation at Jupiter