Portfolio Changes: Appointment of a Global Equity

RNS Number : 6234T

Witan Investment Trust PLC

17 December 2012

 



WITAN INVESTMENT TRUST PLC

17 DECEMBER 2012

Portfolio Changes: Appointment of a Global Equity Manager

Witan Investment Trust plc announces that it has appointed UK-based Lansdowne Partners* to manage a global equity portfolio, with effect from 14 December 2012. The portfolio will have an initial value of approximately £30m and will be invested in accordance with Lansdowne Partners' newly established Developed Markets Long Only Strategy. It will be funded from cash resources, with a small initial increase in short-term borrowings.

Lansdowne Partners is already well known as a leading hedge fund manager, whose Principals also have a long-term history of working together managing equity portfolios. They apply a concentrated stock-picking approach within this strategy, which consists solely of long positions in a portfolio of 15-25 stocks, chosen for their investment attractions, independent of their weighting within stock market indices.

Andrew Bell, Chief Executive of Witan Investment Trust, says:

"This appointment is part of our continuing move to invest more with specialist managers who have innovative and high-conviction approaches towards creating value through stock picking and portfolio construction. Lansdowne Partners' unconstrained yet analytically- rigorous investment approach fits well with Witan's objective of seeking returns driven by the individual characteristics of portfolio companies and less dependent upon equity index performance."

-ENDS-

For further information please contact:

Andrew Bell, Chief Executive Officer

Witan Investment Trust plc

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

James Frost, Marketing Director

Witan Investment Trust plc

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

Jain Castiau, Director

Cauldron Consulting

Tel: [phone]

[e-mail]

Notes

Witan Investment Trust plc: Established in 1909, Witan is one of the UK's largest investment trusts, managing some £1.2bn (as at 30.06.2012; source: Witan) on behalf of some 32,000 investors. Witan is listed in the 'Global Growth' sector and is a member of the FTSE 250 index. Registered as an Investment Company in England No 101625. Further information may be found at www.witan.com .  

Lansdowne Partners Limited Partnership

*Lansdowne Partners Limited Partnership, acting through its general partner Lansdowne Partners Limited ("Lansdowne Partners") was founded in 1998.  Lansdowne Partners manages assets for a diversified client base that includes some of the world's largest and most sophisticated investors.  As at 1 December 2012, assets under management were $11.3bn across three distinct Equity investment strategies; European, Developed Markets (previously known as the UK Strategy) and Global Financials, each with its own dedicated team of portfolio managers and analysts, Lansdowne Partners employs 85 people in its London office.  The investment philosophy is predicated on generating consistent, absolute risk-adjusted returns, through the use of exceptional investment talent within a leading-edge operational infrastructure.  Central to Lansdowne Partners investment philosophy is a rigorous process of fundamental research.

The Developed Markets Strategy is run by Co-Heads Peter Davies and Stuart Roden, who have been with Lansdowne since 2001.  The Developed Markets Long Only Strategy leverages the fundamental stock analysis of the team, investing predominantly in mega-cap companies (+$10bn market cap) in developed markets.

 

END

 

 

DOCBRBDDXBBBGDS