Star manager exit rocks Miton

Management changes have taken place at two of our sister magazine Money Observer's Rated Funds - CF Miton UK Value Opportunities and Argonaut European Enhanced Income.

The co-managers of CF Miton UK Value Opportunities, George Godber and Georgina Hamilton, have served notice they are to resign from the firm.

The pair has been co-managing the £869 million fund since March 2013. CF Miton UK Value Opportunities accounts for almost one third of Miton's £3 billion under management.

Godber and Hamilton have contractual notice periods of 12 months and six months respectively. Miton states it "continues to be looking after the best interests of its clients as it recruits replacement portfolio managers".

Transition

The fund has delivered a return of 62.1% over the last three years to 7 April, compared with an average 18.2% return from the UK all companies sector.

In addition, Liontrust has acquired Argonaut's FP Argonaut European Enhanced Income fund, which has £131 million under management and whose 'Hedged' share class is also a Money Observer Rated Fund.

As a result, fund manager Oliver Russ is moving to the Liontrust group. The transition of Argonaut's European Income and Enhanced Income funds is expected to be completed in early June 2016.

The fund has delivered a return of 30.3% over the past three years to 7 April, but it lost 6% over the last three months.

The departures certainly hammered Miton's share price, down as much as 29% at one stage Thursday to prices not seen since January, says Lee Wild, editor at Interactive Investor.

However, he also points out that they had risen by around 36% in the past month, and 20-30p has largely been the range since late 2014.

The Money Observer view

Rated Funds editor Andrew Pitts says both funds retain their Rated Fund status. "In the case of Russ's fund it should be very much business as usual under the Liontrust banner, which will rebadge the funds in due course.

"And, because good fund managers have a reputation to uphold, I would expect Godber and Hamilton to continue to do a good job for investors in CF Miton UK Value Opportunities until Miton finds suitable replacements. We will continue to monitor developments here more closely."

This article is for information and discussion purposes only and does not form a recommendation to invest or otherwise. The value of an investment may fall. The investments referred to in this article may not be suitable for all investors, and if in doubt, an investor should seek advice from a qualified investment adviser.