UBS equity income fund manager Gallagher exits

Brian Gallagher, manager of the £22m UBS Equity Income fund, has left the firm, with his fund handed over to Edward Peter-Hoblyn and Richard Lloyd.

The fund, run by Gallagher since 2007, was one of the first UK equity income funds to use covered call options. New co-manager Lloyd will be responsible for the covered call allocation, while Peter-Hobyln will look after stock selection.

Peter-Hoblyn already manages UBS' £46m Opportunities fund, having taken it on in September 2010. He joined from Mirabaud Investment Management, where he managed £850m of long-only, UK equity portfolios in the group's high alpha offering.

Meanwhile Lloyd joined UBS in November last year from Insight Investment Management where he had been head of structured solutions.

The UBS Equity Income fund has underperformed over three years, returning 7% to investors against a sector average of 19.3%.

However, in the last year, amid falling markets, it has improved, shedding just 0.7% compared to the sector average decline of 2.1%, according to Morningstar.