Royal London AM makes raft of changes to equities team

Royal London Asset Management today (11 November) unveiled the appointment of Richard Saldanha, Francois de Bruin and Matt Kirby to its equity team, and the appointment of Mike Fox to head of Equities, as it continues to build its high conviction investment capabilities.

Saldanha, who becomes lead manager of the Royal London Global Equity Income Fund and a manager on the Global Equity Select Fund, joins from Aviva Investors, where he spent 18 years, most recently as a global equity fund manager responsible for over £1.5bn in assets under management.

De Bruin joins as lead manager on the Royal London Global Equity Select Fund, while Kirby will manage the Royal London Global Equity Income Fund alongside lead manager Richard Saldanha. All three, who combined have nearly 40 years’ industry experience, join with immediate effect.

In addition, Mike Fox has been appointed as head of equities. He continues to lead on Royal London Asset Management’s suite of sustainable investment funds, supported by the 10-strong sustainable investment team, the Royal London Asset Management responsible investment team, and its external advisory committee.

Royal London further said there would be "no change to the differentiated, repeatable and proven investment approach which underpins Royal London Asset Management’s equity capabilities, and the funds continue to be managed in line with their objectives".

Royal London Asset Management’s chief investment officer Piers Hillier said: “With his proven track record of leadership and mentoring, Mike was the natural choice to head up the Equity Team in the next stage of its development. Mike has built our sustainable investment funds into a world-class investment proposition over the past 20 years and has delivered consistent investment returns for clients.

“The equity team comprises over 30 fund managers, analysts, and quant specialists, offering our clients a best-in-class solution, and I look forward to seeing it go from strength to strength under Mike’s leadership.”

Head of equities Mike Fox added: “Royal London Asset Management’s industry-leading equity products span the Corporate Life Cycle process, which provides a key framework for our global equity investment strategy, as well as sustainable, income, small and mid-cap, core growth strategies, and our range of quantitative funds.

“The breadth and scale of our resources, combined with the stability of Royal London, provides a fantastic platform, allowing us to meet the needs of existing and new clients, in the UK and internationally.”

Richard Saldanha said: “I look forward to working alongside the talented investment team at Royal London Asset Management and applying my experience of running global equity funds over nearly two decades to the Global Equity Corporate Life Cycle investment process. The experience of the team, and our consistent process, will stand us in good stead to focus on delivering good outcomes for clients across the economic cycle.”