Star fund manager Richard Buxton is quitting his role as head of UK investment at Schroders to join rival firm Old Mutual. Buxton, who will report to Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI) CEO Julian Ide, is heading up the firm’s UK equity teams and will run a flagship UK Alpha equity fund.
Ashton Bradbury, who has led OMGI’s UK equity teams for the past three years will now report to Buxton and will focus on managing the firm’s UK Specialist Equity hedge fund, while Buxton’s deputy at Schroders, Errol Francis is also moving to OMGI.
Buxton currently runs – on a sub-advisory basis – the GBP160 million Old Mutual Equity 3 Fund, which OMGI is planning to rename as the Old Mutual UK Alpha fund, subject to regulatory approval.
Ide says: “We are excited to have two exceptional managers joining our team. Not only do Buxton and Francis have an outstanding track record, they are also an excellent cultural fit with our business and their appointment complements our existing UK equity teams.”
Bradbury says: “This is a significant development for OMGI, one which I fully support. I am very proud of the performance that the smaller companies’ team has delivered over the last 12 years and also that of the wider UK Equity Teams since my appointment as head of equities in 2008.
“I look forward to continuing to work with them as we further develop this capability. I am also looking forward to focusing on managing and building assets in the UK Specialist Equity alternatives strategy which I have been managing since 2003.”
