London – Sanlam Investments today takes on the formal management of eight funds formerly managed by Smith and Williamson Investment Management.
First announced in early January 2021, the deal sees eight funds, including the £629m (as at 31 December 2020) Artificial Intelligence Fund and a number of other equity and fixed interest funds, officially transfer to Sanlam Investments, adding £1.2bn in assets under management (AUM) to the business. All of the funds moving to Sanlam Investments will be renamed over the coming weeks.
Ten individuals, including six fund managers*, have joined Sanlam as part of the deal.
Sanlam will also take on the investment management responsibilities of the Smith & Williamson Global Gold and Resources Fund later in Q1 2021, which will continue to be managed in Toronto by AGF as sub delegate investment manager.
The addition of these funds materially broadens Sanlam Investments funds proposition and allows for the creation of a new specialist thematic range. There are six funds which focus on the themes and trends that are likely to drive economic and market performance over the long term, from social change and demographic shifts to developments in health care and smart technology.
Tom Carroll, Head of Asset Management at Sanlam Investments, said: “We have continued to invest in Sanlam Investments over the past year and the completion of this latest deal, with Smith & Williamson, marks a significant milestone in our strategic goal, to develop a comprehensive range of differentiated funds for all of our clients.”
“The deal also enables us to build out our specialist thematic fund range. Specialist investment strategies such as our Real Assets Fund and Hybrid Capital Bond Fund are complemented by the Smith & Williamson Artificial Intelligence Fund. Together, these funds and others in our range, offer exciting investment opportunities for our clients, enabling them to participate in themes and trends that will shape the future.”
Chris Ford, lead fund manager on the Artificial Intelligence Fund, said: “The S&W team are absolutely delighted to have joined Sanlam. It provides us with a new home where we sit alongside strong, experienced investors and a global reach in terms of the Group’s distribution channels. But above all else, it gives confidence to our unitholders that we are where we want to be, that we have the resource available to invest in support of our funds, that we are focused on continuing to deliver excellent returns”