Lucy Macdonald to leave Rated Fund Brunner IT
The change in management should lead to little change in the way the investment trust is managed, analy…
13th May 2020 11:36
by Tom Bailey from interactive investor
The change in management should lead to little change in the way the investment trust is managed, analysts argue.
Brunner Investment Trust has announced that long-serving manager Lucy Macdonald is to step down, being replaced by former deputy Matthew Tillett.
Appointed manager in 2005, Macdonald oversaw numerous changes at the trust. Chiefly, she saw through Brunner’s evolution from a UK-centric trust with over 200 stocks to a much more concentrated and largely international portfolio with around 65 positions.
Over the past 15 years the trust has returned just over 313% in share price terms. In contrast, the AIC’s Global sector saw an average return of 288% over the same period. The trust’s benchmark, the FTSE World Ex UK index, however, provided a slightly higher return of 317%.
Under Macdonald’s tenure as manager, the trust also restructured historically expensive debt. According to Morningstar analyst David Holder, this helped to boost the income potential of the trust significantly.
- Is value investing a broken model?
Stifl analyst Anthony Stern notes: “Macdonald has done a good job as lead manager of the trust and has helped clean up the structure over the past few years.”
Macdonald’s departure as manager comes as she leaves Allianz Global Investors after 19 years of service. Her departure comes as a result of wider reorganisation of the company.
Macdonald had previously been global equities chief investment officer. That role will now be abolished as Allianz merges its global equities and European growth teams into a single global growth unit. The new team will be headed by Thorsten Winkelmann.
Brunner is a Money Observer Rated Fund, and the news that Macdonald is leaving as manager has resulted in the trust being placed “under review.”
Stern, however, argues that the change in management should lead to little change in the way the trust is managed.
He notes: “Matthew Tillett has worked closely with Lucy on Brunner, so he will provide continuity. He was mainly focused on the UK portfolio and we believe he is a 'sensible pair of hands'. As a result, we envisage a smooth handover and are not worried about this change.”
This article was originally published in our sister magazine Money Observer, which ceased publication in August 2020.
These articles are provided for information purposes only. Occasionally, an opinion about whether to buy or sell a specific investment may be provided by third parties. The content is not intended to be a personal recommendation to buy or sell any financial instrument or product, or to adopt any investment strategy as it is not provided based on an assessment of your investing knowledge and experience, your financial situation or your investment objectives. The value of your investments, and the income derived from them, may go down as well as up. You may not get back all the money that you invest. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.
Full performance can be found on the company or index summary page on the interactive investor website. Simply click on the company's or index name highlighted in the article.