Jupiter loses another fund run by star stockpicker

Asset manager Jupiter has lost another fund run by star stockpicker Ben Whitmore, as the mandate for an Omnis fund has been taken away from it following Whitmore’s departure.

The £573m Omnis Income and Growth fund is set to be shifted to being managed by Ninety One, after being run by Whitmore since July 2019. The fund was originally managed by Neil Woodford.

It will now be managed by Ninety One’s head of value, Alessandro Dicorrado, as well as seven members of his team. Whitmore and Dicorrado both have similar investing styles, focusing on deep value.

“A change in personnel at Jupiter triggered a strategic review of the incumbent manager and led Omnis to this exciting new partnership with Ninety One,” Omnis said in a statement.

The fund has grown 26.4 per cent over the last three years, compared to a sector average of just 7.2 per cent.

Whitmore to leave Jupiter this week

Whitmore, who announced his departure earlier this year, handled around a fifth of Jupiter’s assets and news of his exit sent shares in the asset manager down nearly 15 per cent in a single day. He is due to leave the firm later this week.

In the group’s half-year results in July, Jupiter said investors had pulled £3.4bn from its funds in the six months to the end of June, up from £2.2bn at the end of last year.

Last week, Jupiter said it would be keeping hold of its flagship £616m Jupiter Global Value Equity fund, despite attempts from Whitmore to take it to his new boutique.

“Alessandro and the team impressed us with the clarity and rigour of their investment approach which has enabled the team to consistently identify compelling investment opportunities,” said Andrew Summers, CIO of Omnis Investments.

“We believe Ninety One’s investment approach will enable the fund to deliver its investment objective, and we look forward to working with them.”