HSBC move to multi-manager shows genuine innovation

HSBC Investments' move to outsource £2bn of UK equity assets in income portfolios to a multi-manager...

HSBC Investments' move to outsource £2bn of UK equity assets in income portfolios to a multi-manager approach is a bold move. The cynics would say it has had to do this because its own income fund managers are not up to the job and clearly their performance in recent times has not been anything to write home about. Equally, given the shortage of genuinely top-quality income fund managers, HSBC could either get its chequebook out and try to entice a leading manager from another group, a strategy that comes with its own difficulties, or do something innovative. It has chosen the latter and...