St James’s Place (SJP) has switched its £1.9bn Global Smaller Companies fund from a single manager strategy to a multi-manager approach, hiring six new external managers to run the portfolio alongside the existing manager, Northern Trust Asset Management.
The move was made following SJP’s decision to upgrade its global asset allocation view on smaller companies in December from neutral to positive. This led to global small-cap stocks being increased across SJP’s Polaris and model portfolios.
Joining Northern Trust Asset Trust Management, who replaced Paradice Investment Management as investment advisers to the fund in November 2023, are EdgePoint, Select, MAC Alpha, Kabouter, LSV and Kopernik.
See also: SJP aiming to ‘improve perception’ and become more attractive to advisers
According to SJP, each manager was selected based on their ‘unique’ investment approach, their role within the portfolio, and their ability to generate excess returns in a ‘complimentary’ manner.
Joe Wiggins, investment research director at SJP, said: “The blend of seven managers follows an extensive research process among hundreds of candidates. The managers have been selected to provide a diverse range of complementary investment styles, giving clients in the fund a diverse exposure to the small-cap universe.
“Small caps across regions are the cheapest they have been relative to large caps in recent history, providing an attractive entry point for investors. A modest overweight to global small-cap equities, particularly within a well-constructed, actively managed multi-manager approach, is a compelling allocation for investors looking to capitalise on these long-term opportunities.”
