Richard Buxton is to step down as chief executive of Merian Global Investors (formerly Old Mutual Global Investors). He’ll be replaced by Mark Gregory who currently serves as a non-executive director.
Buxton will remain Head of UK Equities. He’ll also continue to manage the Merian UK Alpha Fund and the Merian UK Equity Fund, which he took over from Simon Murphy at the end of 2018.
Our view
We think Richard Buxton stepping down from his role of CEO is positive for investors. It means he can concentrate on his funds without the distraction of company management responsibilities. This should benefit his funds’ performance in the long run.
The Merian UK Alpha fund previously featured on the Wealth 150 list of our favourite funds, but didn’t make it into the condensed Wealth 50 list. Richard Buxton has delivered good performance over his fund management career but returns have been volatile at times. Overall we feel there are other UK fund managers with the potential to deliver greater returns over the long term. And their funds are available at lower cost.
The Merian UK Equity fund hadn’t performed particularly well under Simon Murphy. We think Richard Buxton has the potential to improve performance, although there are no guarantees. It’s not currently on the Wealth 50 list of our favourite funds but we don’t think investors should sell the fund if it still meets their objectives.
Our favourite UK growth funds can be found on the Wealth 50.
| Annual percentage growth | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dec 13 -
Dec 14 |
Dec 14 -
Dec 15 |
Dec 15 -
Dec 16 |
Dec 16 -
Dec 17 |
Dec 17 -
Dec 18 | |
| Merian UK Alpha | 0.8% | -2.8% | 13.4% | 13.9% | -11.5% |
| Merian UK Equity | 3.1% | 2.2% | 10.1% | 12.9% | -17.3% |
| FTSE All-Share TR | 1.2% | 1% | 16.8% | 13.1% | -9.5% |
Past performance is not a guide to the future. Source: Lipper IM to 31/12/2018
Want our latest research sent direct to your inbox?
Our expert research team provide regular updates on a wide range of funds.