Openwork awards fund mandates to Jupiter and Baillie Gifford

Openwork is launching two equity funds to be managed by Jupiter and Baillie Gifford as the network continues to add leading asset managers to Omnis, its fast-growing investment proposition.
The Omnis European Equity Fund will be run by Cedric de Fonclare, manager of the Jupiter European Special Situations Fund. The Omnis Asia Pacific Equity Fund will be run by Iain Campbell, who manages the Ballie Gifford Developed Asia Pacific Fund.
Both new funds, which will launch next month, will broadly mirror the managers’ existing strategies. As with the other sector funds in the Omnis ‘Graphene’ proposition – managed by groups including Woodford Investment Management, Schroders, and Threadneedle – the new funds will form the building blocks of a number of risk-rated multi-asset model portfolios which automatically rebalance every six months.
Mark Duckworth, Chief Executive Officer at Openwork, said: “Our multi-asset range has been a huge success since launch and we are always seeking ways to enhance the options offered to our advisers and their clients. These two new funds, following the recent launch of the UK equity strategy managed by Neil Woodford, further demonstrate that Openwork has the scale and distribution power to partner with the UK’s leading fund managers in order to provide the best possible outcomes for customers.”
James Crossley, Head of Retail Distribution at Jupiter, said: “We have managed an Emerging Markets equity fund for Omnis for more than two years and we are delighted to have been selected to run a European equity strategy alongside it. We have an excellent relationship with Openwork and we look forward to expanding this partnership while continuing to focus on delivering outperformance in the long term for the business’s advisers and their clients.”
Grant Walker, Head of Intermediary Sales at Baillie Gifford, said: “We have been impressed by the Omnis proposition and we are delighted to have been selected to run a mandate in a core asset class such as Asia Pacific equities. Openwork generates high-quality flows from its advisers around the UK and we are very pleased to enter into a partnership with a business that is not only growing but committed to delivering great investment outcomes for clients.”