Berkshire Pension Fund appoints global equity manager
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
The Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund has hired an investment manager to look after a £70m global equity income mandate.
Kames Capital has been appointed by the scheme to look after the actively managed portfolio which targets an initial dividend yield of at least 130% of the MSCI World Index and income growth in excess of the UK Consumer Price Index.
The portfolio will be managed by Kames head of overseas equities Piers Hillier and fund manager Mark Peden. Both Piers and Mark are international equity specialists with over 20 years' experience. They will also be supported by Marcus Chandler, who joined Kames Capital in September 2012.
Commenting on the award of the mandate Hillier says: "History teaches us that dividends dominate long-term global equity returns. Compared to capital growth, the importance of dividend yield and dividend growth across major markets has been profound. We believe there is a real opportunity for institutional investors to profit from the powerful compounding effect of reinvested dividends. We achieve this by investing in a concentrated and stable portfolio of high-quality companies which have the potential to sustain and grow their dividends."
Councillor John Lenton, chairman of the Berkshire Pension Fund Panel says: "We were impressed with the depth and rigour of Kames Capital's global equity process and have confidence in the team's ability to deliver a reliable and sustainable income stream with the potential for long-term capital growth."
Kames head of institutional sales Jon Dadswell added: "We are delighted to welcome the Royal County of Berkshire Pension Fund as a client of the firm. This is a tremendous endorsement of Kames Capital's credentials in global equities, and particularly the work that Piers and his team have done to develop a distinctive equity income strategy that meets the needs of UK pension funds."
Kames global equity income strategy was launched in January 2011 and currently has over £400m under management.
First published 12.12.12
azeevalkink@wilmington.co.uk
