M&G hires Cliff to run Pan European Dividend fund

Phil Cliff, former manager of the £1bn Threadneedle European fund, has joined M&G to manage its Pan European Dividend fund.

Cliff, who was most recently head of European equities at Occam, will work with M&G Global Dividend manager Stuart Rhodes in running the £22m fund, freeing up existing manager Richard Halle to concentrate on running his £101m European Strategic Value fund.

Pan European Dividend has returned 15.9% over the three years to 13 January versus an IMA Europe inc. UK sector average of 28.9%, according to Morningstar. European Strategic Value returned 21.8% over the same period.

Cliff ran the £1bn Threadneedle European fund until 2007, when he left to join Occam Asset Management.

He subsequently left the boutique late last year after it was acquired by Liontrust. His funds at Occam are now run by Liontrust's James Inglis-Jones and Gary West.

"[The appointment] enables Richard, who has done an excellent job on the M&G Pan European Dividend Fund, to dedicate himself fully to his highly successful value approach to European equities," said Dave Fishwick, head of macro and equity investment at M&G.

The manager changes are subject to regulatory approval.