JOHIM set to merge Spencer House mandate into Waverton fund

JO Hambro Investment Management (JOHIM) is considering a merger between the recently-acquired global mandate from Spencer House Capital Management with its Waverton Global Equity fund.

The management of the Spencer House Capital Management fund, a UCITS umbrella which holds the global equity portfolio and a number of segregated mandates, was transferred to JOHIM in January while the managers, Charles Martyn-Hemphill and Will Kenney, also joined the firm to continue running the funds. The name was also changed to JOHIM Global Investment Funds.

Investment Week understands JOHIM is now planning to merge the global equity mandate with its existing Waverton Global Equity fund, run by Jennifer Fisher, within the next six months although the group said there is no firm timetable at this stage.

In a statement, the group said: “JOHIM is reviewing its global fund business following the appointment as investment manager of the Spencer House Capital Management fund. It is reviewing the synergies between the two funds with a view to merging the funds if appropriate.”

Martyn-Hemphill and Kenney will manage the vehicle, if the merger receives board and shareholder approval, leaving Fisher to concentrate on private client and segregated mandates.

The statement continued: “The merged fund, if and when it happens, would take on characteristics of both funds and its objective would still be to provide long-term capital growth through a focused list of investments in international equities.”

The Waverton Global Equity fund’s strategy is to invest in 30-50 stocks from the FTSE World index, without adhering to the index country weightings, based on specific investment themes.