Ryan Hughes, head of active portfolios at AJ Bell, comments on Alexander Darwall leaving Jupiter:
“News that Alexander Darwall is leaving Jupiter to set up his own firm is a surprise given it was only in April that he was stepping back from his open ended funds to concentrate on his investment trust. This was not interpreted at the time as a step to an immediate departure but it seems plans were already afoot for this next step for Darwall to set up his own investment management company.
“With the Board of the Jupiter European Opportunities IT immediately announcing their intention to re-appoint Darwall once his new firm is up and running, investors should have confidence in the continuity of the investment approach that has delivered outstanding returns during his 20yr tenure, delivering over three times the index return. With Jupiter announcing that Darwall has agreed to not launch a competing open-ended fund for two years, it seems that investors only opportunity to continue to access Darwall’s quality growth investment approach will be through the investment trust which may well create strong demand for it in the coming months.”