Managed funds

ON ASSET ALLOCATION

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has cut an £8m mandate run by Gartmore's Ben Wallace from its £62m UK Strategic Best Ideas fund, pointing to "disappointing" returns.

Cazenove's Diversity Income fund is set to launch on 15 December with a majority equity weighting, headlined by Neil Woodford's £7.9bn Invesco Perpetual Income fund.

ON ASSET ALLOCATION

Ignis has hired Michiel Timmerman from Aberdeen Asset Management to run its newly created £2.5bn multi-manager unit.

Schroders is planning to create a multi-manager product based on its popular Income Maximiser range, which would offer investors a 7% yield and monthly income distribution.

Alastair Mundy, manager of the Investec Cautious Managed fund, believes lowly valued blue-chip equities are possibly the best hedge against any future economic or market uncertainty.

Shareholders in F&C's multi-manager funds have voted to merge with the Thames River Multi-Capital range run by Rob Burdett and Gary Potter.

Skandia has bought a £19m stake in the Liontrust Credit Absolute Return fund, spreading the investment across a number of portfolios.

Leading strategist Tim Bond left his position as head of asset allocation at BarCap this summer for a new role at Odey Asset Management.