Columbia Threadneedle Investments plans to transfer assets from UK-domiciled funds to its Luxembourg range ahead of the UK’s exit from the EU.

The asset manager will launch 13 new funds in its Luxembourg SICAV vehicle to accommodate the transferring assets, it said in a statement on Wednesday. In total, 20 UK-based funds will see assets move to Luxembourg.

All transfers are subject to approvals from investors and the UK and Luxembourg regulators. Affected investors will be contacted between now and September.

The group did not put a figure on the amount of money expected to move, but a spokesman said European clients in UK-based pooled funds “account for a very small percentage” of Columbia Threadneedle’s global assets – roughly 2%. The affected funds together are worth roughly €28bn (see below).

According to IPE’s 2017 Top 400 Asset Managers report, the company ran €432bn worldwide at the end of 2016, including €63.5bn for European institutional clients.

Michelle Scrimgeour, CEO for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Columbia Threadneedle, said: “Our priority is to provide certainty and continuity for our clients. By facilitating the transfer of European customers to our existing Luxembourg range we will ensure they can continue to access our best investment strategies in a UCITS-compliant fund, regardless of the final agreement between the UK and the EU.

“For EU investors, the transfers will remove uncertainty regarding the future status of their investment in their home country.”

In June last year, M&G announced similar plans to move €7bn worth of assets from its UK-based funds to its Luxembourg fund vehicle to safeguard its non-UK investors.

Affected Columbia Threadneedle funds

UK-based fundSizeLuxembourg-based fundSize
Threadneedle American Fund £2.2bn Threadneedle (Lux) – American $230m 
Threadneedle American Extended Alpha Fund £169m  Threadneedle (Lux) – American Extended Alpha New fund 
Threadneedle American Select Fund £1.1bn Threadneedle (Lux) – American Select $9.4m 
Threadneedle American Smaller Companies Fund £641m Threadneedle (Lux) – American Smaller Companies New fund 
Threadneedle Asia Fund £599m Threadneedle (Lux) – Asia New fund 
Threadneedle Credit Opportunities Fund £1.9bn  Threadneedle (Lux) – Credit Opportunities New fund 
Threadneedle European Corporate Bond Fund £169m  Threadneedle (Lux) – European Corporate Bond New fund 
Threadneedle European High Yield Bond Fund €726m  Threadneedle (Lux) – European High Yield Bond New fund 
Threadneedle European Select Fund £3bn Threadneedle (Lux) – European Select €32.9m 
Threadneedle European Smaller Companies Fund £2.2bn Threadneedle (Lux) – European Smaller Companies New fund 
Threadneedle Global Emerging Markets Equity Fund £326m Threadneedle (Lux) – Global Emerging Market Equities $4.6m
Threadneedle Global Equity Income Fund £1.6bn Threadneedle (Lux) – Global Equity Income New fund 
Threadneedle Global Extended Alpha Fund £261m  Threadneedle (Lux) – Global Extended Alpha New fund 
Threadneedle Global Select Fund £1.2bn  Threadneedle (Lux) – Global Select New fund 
Threadneedle Pan European Fund £252m Threadneedle (Lux) – Pan European Equities €64.7m
Threadneedle Pan European Equity Dividend Fund £63m  Threadneedle (Lux) – Pan European Equity Dividend New fund 
Threadneedle Pan European Smaller Companies Fund £1.6bn Threadneedle (Lux) – Pan European Smaller Companies New fund 
Threadneedle UK Fund £2.1bn Threadneedle (Lux) – UK Equities £145.3m 
Threadneedle UK Absolute Alpha Fund £648m Threadneedle (Lux) – UK Absolute Alpha New fund 
Threadneedle UK Equity Income Fund £3.9bn Threadneedle (Lux) – UK Equity Income £78.4m 

Source: Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Fund size data correct as of 31 March 2018. 

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