Investec

River & Mercantile Asset Management is soft closing Philip Rodrigs' UK Equity Smaller Companies fund following strong inflows during the past year.

UK equity managers Simon Brazier and Clive Beagles have turned more positive on Vodafone, snapping up shares in the company three years after they both cautioned about the telecom's prospects.

From urbanisation and the rise of a new middle class in emerging markets, to a renewed focus on corporate governance, managers explain which global structural changes are having the greatest impact on their portfolios.

Investec Asset Management has launched a Global Dividend fund run by Jonathan Parker and its 4Factor equity team as it continues to bulk up its income offering.

Investec has reported profits in its asset management business grew 3.6% over the year to the end of March 2015, as its CEO said the wider group is "in the best position it has been since the mid-2000s".

Simon Brazier, manager of the £203m Investec UK Alpha fund, has joined the debate on Tesco, arguing the supermarket giant fails to meet his key criteria for investment.

The key issues impacting investors

What is your most interesting contrarian position?

Markets have responded positively to news of a Conservative election win, but uncertainty over Britain's membership of the EU and Scotland's future are storm clouds on the horizon, according to economists and fund managers.

What is proper portfolio diversification?