Old Mutual's Simon Murphy has begun introducing food retailers into his fund, believing the sector is well positioned to benefit from food price inflation.
The FTSE 100 opened up 0.18% or 9.37 points to 5,204.65 boosted by bid activity in the financial sector.
HSBC is in discussions with Old Mutual over acquiring a 70% stake in South African bank Nedbank.
The FTSE 100 opened in positive territory as strong results from majority-nationalised bank RBS crowned off a largely impressive results week for the UK banking sector.
Old Mutual's Stephen Snowden says subdued economic growth is a positive driver for credit markets as it forces companies to become more fiscally prudent.
Richard Watts has struggled to maintain performance on the Old Mutual Select UK Mid Cap fund since taking it over from Ashton Bradbury last year.
Skandia has passed a £95m UK equity mandate from Mirabaud to Old Mutual mid- and small-cap specialist Richard Watts.