Equities
Gartmore fund rating suspended over manager uncertainty
Rob Langston, 23 February 2011
Rating agency Old Broad Street Research has suspended the A-rating of Gartmore's UK Alpha fund as uncertainty over Leigh Himsworth's position remains.
Himsworth is the highest profile manager not to have been named by Henderson Global Investors as one of the Gartmore managers moving to the firm, as yet.
In a statement, the ratings agency said, 'To date Mr Himsworth’s position remains unclear and we believe that in the face of continued uncertainty it is prudent to suspend the fund’s Rating until such time as the matter has been resolved.'
The fund manager was left off a list of Gartmore fund managers published by Henderson when the acquisition deal was struck. The list includes Adam McConkey, Charlie Awdry, John Bennett, Tony Lanning who have agreed to join Henderson following the merger.
Himsworth joined Gartmore in 2009 ahead of the asset manager's float on the London Stock Exchange. The fund manager joined from Royal London Asset Management where he managed the Royal London UK Mid-Cap Growth Trust.
Gartmore earlier today announced that pre-tax profits had fallen from £46.2 million in 2009 to just £18.2 million during 2010. Last year the fund manager embroiled in a number of incidents, that saw star managers Guillaume Rambourg and Roger Guy leave and the departure of UK small cap specialist Gervais Williams.
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