Ben Whitmore, who manages £10bn for Jupiter, will leave the asset manager after 18 years to set up his own value boutique firm.
He is expected to remain with Jupiter until the end of July 2024 and his largest fund, the £2.1bn Special Situations Fund will be taken on by JO Hambro's Alex Savvides.
Currently, Whitmore also manages the £1.6bn Jupiter Income Trust, £1bn Jupiter Global Value Unit Trust and £0.5bn Jupiter Global Value Sicav, as well as segregated mandates with a further £4.8bn of AUM.
Matthew Beesley, Jupiter's chief executive, said: “Having worked at Jupiter since 2006, Ben informed me of his ambition to set up a new independent value equities boutique which has been a long-term personal aspiration for him
“Naturally, delivering the best outcomes for clients and ensuring a seamless succession remain our collective focus at this time.”
Whitmore has agreed that once he has established his new firm, it will not compete with Jupiter for two years from his leaving date in the UK Equity Income sector and the non-UK open-ended UCITS market.
Jupiter is also discussing the possibility of Jupiter Global Value Unit Trust to be managed by Whitmore’s new boutique, as a delegated investment manager of Jupiter.
Whitmore’s £2.1bn Jupiter Special Situations fund will be taken over by new appointment Alex Savvides, who is expected to join the firm by this autumn.
Savvides is currently at JO Hambro Capital Management where he manages the £1.3bn UK Dynamic Fund as well as around £1bn in segregated mandates.
Savvides said: “Special situations and value investing underpin my investment philosophy.
“Whilst my approach to investing is not dissimilar to the strategy’s current investment approach – a highly disciplined and active style focused on undervalued UK companies – I believe we can build on this strategy’s legacy by blending in the proven stock selection, stewardship and engagement approach that I have employed successfully for clients over many years.
In November it was announced that Gam managers Adrian Gosden and Chris Morrison would move to Jupiter.
They have since joined the company to take up the management of the Jupiter Income Trust.
tara.o'connor@ft.com
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