UK – The £1.5bn (€2.4bn) Avon Pension Fund has dropped Merrill Lynch Investment Managers (MLIM) and Gartmore from mandates worth almost £1bn (€1.6bn) for failing to achieve performance targets since they were appointed in 1997.

Capital International, Threadneedle Asset Management and Wellington Management International have been appointed as replacements following an extraordinary review by the fund of its investment management arrangements.

Capital International is to run an active mandate worth approximately £525m (€855m), Wellington an active international equity mandate worth some £165m (€269m) and Threadneedle an active UK equity worth some £205m (€334m).

The fund’s original roster was mainly split between Barclays Global Investors (BGI), MLIM and Gartmore, with a small £30m (€49m) socially responsible UK equity mandate managed by Jupiter Asset Management.

MLIM and Gartmore both ran mandates worth around £490m (€798m). BGI will now run a £450m (€733m) passive multi-asset mandate and a £120m (€196m) passive fixed income mandate. The Jupiter portfolio, awarded last April, remains unchanged.



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