Jupiter Asset Management has changed policies on investing in unlisted assets for open-ended funds, following a change in "investor sentiment" towards riskier assets.
In a letter to investors, chief executive Matthew Beesley announced that the firm had reached a deal to sell the entirety of its exposure to unlisted company Starling Bank, which is held in several of the firm's funds, to various existing shareholders such as investment trust Chrysallis.
Beesley said in the letter, sent yesterday (7 February), that a majority of its stake in Starling was held in the firm's £1bn UK Mid Cap fund.
The fund is "well below" the Financial Conduct Authority's limit of 10% for unlisted holdings, he said, sitting at 6.5% at the end of January, 5.9% of which was Starling. However, he noted investor sentiment has changed due to sustained market volatility.
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He said: "Despite the managers' strong ongoing conviction in Starling, which is a profitable and fast-growing UK bank, we regularly review and prudently manage our unlisted exposures, especially in open-ended funds."
Therefore, Jupiter has changed its policy with regard to unlisted assets going forward.
"From now on, we will not make any new investments into this asset class through any of our open-ended funds," Beesley added.
"While we do still retain very small stakes in a minimal number of other unlisted assets, we will prudently manage these exposures over time with a view to generating maximum value for our clients."
Starling was valued at £2.5bn in the firm's last funding round in April last year.
