Investec hires UK equity team led by Brazier from Threadneedle

Investec Asset Management has hired Simon Brazier, head of UK equities at Threadneedle Investments, and four of his team members.

Brazier manages the £2 billion (€2.5 billion) Threadneedle UK Fund as well as a number of institutional mandates.

Also joining from Threadneedle Investments are fund manager Blake Hutchins, analysts Ben Needham and Anna Farmbrough, and product specialist Neil Finlay.

Brazier, who will join in November, will run UK equity funds using his current UK alpha strategy. He will also become co-head with Clyde Rossouw of the “Investec quality capability”.

Investec Asset Management says it will also launch a UK Equity Income fund to be run by Hutchins.

Hiring teams is becoming increasingly popular among asset managers as they aim to fill strategic product gaps and raise assets fast, but this strategy is not without pitfalls when it comes to integration, cost and legal issues.