Alex Tedder, who joined Schroders in July as head of global and international equities, has made changes aimed at bolstering investment
performance, including making returns more consistent.
Higher risk management and more sell-discipline are part of the “improvements” Schroders is making to its global and international equities business, together with job changes.
James Gautrey, previously global sector specialist, has been promoted to portfolio manager for international equities. He will support Simon Webber, lead portfolio manager, in the management of global ex-US portfolios and will also retain his sector analyst responsibilities for technology in the interim.
Katherine Davidson, global sector specialist, will expand her sector coverage from autos to take responsibility for telecommunications companies from Gautrey. Andre Reichel, previously an equity analyst with three years’ experience, has been promoted to global sector specialist for utilities.
The team is also in the process of interviewing for an experienced global sector analyst for resources.
Independently, Schroders says, Giles Money, portfolio manager for the team’s global climate change strategy and global sector specialist for utilities and materials, has decided to leave Schroders to pursue another opportunity.
The changes follow a review of investment philosophy, process and structure, Schroders says.
Tedder identified “four key areas where incremental improvements can be made in order to improve the investment outcome and consistency of returns”.
These are: a simplification and tightening up of the team’s philosophy; increased focus on the fundamental risks of investing in a company; improved portfolio risk management; and improved sell discipline with a clearer focus on anticipating the emergence of negative earnings trends relative to the market’s expectations.
Tedder says: “Increased accountability for performance and idea generation within the team together with recent enhancements to the investment process will help drive a sustainable improvement in performance over the coming months.”
Tedder took over responsibility from Peter Harrison for the for global and international equities team’s business management and strategic planning.
When Schroders announced the appointment of Tedder in April, a statement said there “will be no change to the team’s investment style or the main elements of the investment process. The approach utilising global sector specialists will remain at the core of the team’s investment process”.
Tedder joined Schroders from American Century Investments, where he was co-head of global and non-US large cap strategies.
Schroders appointed Harrison as a director and head of investment in May and he will stand for election at the 2015 annual general meeting. Harrison was appointed global head of equities at Schroders in March 2013.
©2014 funds europe
