Head of research at Saracen Fund Managers and manager of the TB Saracen UK Alpha and UK Income funds, Scott McKenzie, has left the firm after nearly seven years to join Amati Global Investors.
McKenzie, whose career in UK equities spans more than 20 years, joins CEO Paul Jourdan, David Stevenson, Anna Macdonald and Dr Gareth Blades on Amati's investment team and will work across the TB Amati UK Smaller Companies Fund, Amati AIM VCT and the Amati AIM IHT Portfolio Service.
McKenzie joined Saracen in 2014 after a five-year break from the industry, having previously managed Martin Currie's UK Equity Income fund.
Also managed by David Clark, TB Saracen UK Alpha has returned 75%, 29.9% and 62.8% over one, three and five years respectively, according to FE fundinfo. Peers in the IA UK All Companies have averaged gains of 42.5%, 14.9% and 42% over the same time periods respectively.
TB Saracen UK Income is a top quartile performer in the IA UK Equity Income over one, three and five years.
The fund aims to provide income exceeding 110% of the dividend income of the MSCI All Cap index and an overall return superior to that of the index.
Prior to Martin Currie, McKenzie held investment roles at FS Assurance, which subsequently became part of Ignis Asset Management, and Aviva Investors.
Jourdan explained that Amati "have known Scott for many years" and "have always held him in the highest regard".
He added: "He comes with a proven track record and adds considerable weight to our investment management resource at a time when we are experiencing considerable growth.
"Our team-based approach means we can immediately integrate Scott into Amati's investment philosophy and process. We look forward to benefiting from his extensive stock picking experience."
McKenzie said Amati "is a business I have followed and admired for some time now and I look forward to helping the team build upon the considerable progress they have made in recent years".
