Lucy Marmion, co-manager of the £368 million (€430.4 million) BlackRock UK Smaller Companies fund, has left the firm to pursue other opportunities.
Marmion’s co-manager Roland Arnold (pictured) has assumed sole control of the fund. A spokesperson for BlackRock said the fund’s investment approach would not change.
Arnold has spent 15 years at BlackRock, and became co-manager of the fund in March 2015.
Marmion will also resign as a member of BlackRock’s small- and mid-cap equity team. It is uncertain whether she will be replaced.
According to FE Trustnet data, the BlackRock UK Smaller Companies fund has returned 21.9% over three years to 5 July, against the IA Smaller Companies sector average of 23.4%.
The news follows the recent departure of veteran Michael Marks, who spent 28 years at the firm. He joined Legal & General Investment Management as chief operating officer. In March, BlackRock announced the most significant redundancy drive in its history, with 400 staff (3% of its global workforce) facing the axe.
Blackrock has $4.6 trillion (€3.8 trillion) in assets under management and added a further $54 billion in net new money in the fourth quarter of the last financial year.
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