Multi-manager stalwarts Richard Philbin and Tom McGrath hope to blend their expertise as they join forces at relaunched boutique 8AM Global.
Formerly Hasley Investment Management, 8AM will see founding partner Jeremy Nunn joined by Mr McGrath and Clive Moore, managing director of Idad, the structured products specialist. Both men are named partners, each having taken stakes in the business.
Mr Philbin, chief investment officer at Harwood Capital, will continue his role as managing the four (former Hasley) multi-strategy funds on an outsourced basis, which are categorised by volatility.
The range will be renamed from numbers I to IV and instead named 8AM Global Defensive, Cautious, Balanced and Global Growth.
It is also likely the group will introduce a UK fund of structured products at some stage to take advantage of Mr Moore’s expertise.
“There’s no rush, we have enough to be getting on with,” Mr McGrath said.
“But it feels like there is an opportunity with access to the primary and secondary markets and plenty of pricing anomalies to exploit.”
Mr McGrath will also run the Elite Hasley Focused fund – currently awaiting signoff on its new label, 8AM Global Vision.
The product was initially intended as a fund of exchange-traded products but Mr McGrath now intends the vehicle to be roughly half in exchange traded funds (ETFs) and half in collectives.
“There is such pressure on costs these days it makes sense to have a large proportion in ETFs, especially if you can’t find a good manager,” Mr McGrath said.
“But you don’t want to restrict yourself because there are some excellent fund managers who can add real value.”
The fund will sit in the more aggressive end of the IA Mixed Investment 40-85% Shares sector, with Mr McGrath expecting to hold 70-80 per cent in stocks and shares.
He added: “They will be punchy ones as well, investing in themes that reflect where the world is heading rather than in archaic benchmarks.”
He will invest in global themes, such as Asian consumption, biotech that supports an ageing population, global commodity shortages and emerging market infrastructure, for example.
Mr McGrath’s first month at the helm saw the fund lead the peer group, with performance attributed to the recovery in gold. S&P Producers Gold ETF delivered 23.4 per cent in the month and a new position was initiated in ETFS Gold Bullion.
The manager also introduced tech giant Apple and the £605m Axa Framlington Biotech fund run by Linden Thomson, reflecting his more thematic approach.
Mr McGrath will join Mr Nunn on 8AM’s investment committee, assisting with asset allocation strategy and qualitative fund analysis.
Alastair George will run the long/short Diversifier fund and Tactical Growth – both of which will be renamed under 8AM.
