The Openwork Group launches Newton-managed multi-asset income fund
- Fund to be managed by Paul Flood and Nick Clay
- Move comes as Openwork’s fund range hits £1.2bn just 12 months after launch
Omnis Investments[1], Openwork’s asset management business, is launching a multi-asset income fund managed by Newton Investment Management as part of the network’s drive to build on its earlier success.
Launching in early March, the new fund will be managed by Paul Flood and Nick Clay of Newton, which currently manages around £32bn (as at September 2014) in multi-asset and income mandates (see notes to editors for more details).
The managers, who in combination have more than 30 years’ investment experience, will run the new fund with the aim of producing a steady and sustainable level of income while maintaining investors’ spending power over the medium term. The fund will invest in equities, bonds, alternatives and cash.
The new fund will sit alongside the three existing risk-rated model portfolios in the Omnis ‘Graphene’ fund proposition – Cautious, Balanced and Adventurous – which comprise a number of sector funds managed on a mandate basis. The three model portfolios have attracted a total of £1.2bn from Openwork advisers since their launch last February.
Philip Martin, Marketing Director at Openwork, said: “Our investment proposition has been a tremendous success in its first 12 months and we believe now is the ideal time to launch an income fund as we approach the introduction of the new pension freedoms.
“Following a rigorous tender process it was clear that Newton was the best qualified to manage the new fund in what is a highly competitive space. Newton is a world-class investment manager and in Paul and Nick we believe it has two of the best multi-asset and income fund managers in the industry. We are thrilled to offer their services to our advisers and their clients as part of our ongoing efforts to ensure our proposition remains at the forefront of the advice market in all of the areas in which we operate.”
Helena Morrissey, CEO of Newton Investment Management, says: “Openwork is one of the UK’s largest distribution businesses with a high-quality investment proposition and a clear focus on client outcomes. The volume of business it has delivered over the last 12 months is phenomenal and we believe the combination of Openwork’s distribution power and our investment expertise makes a huge amount of a sense in a market increasingly seeking income solutions within the multi-asset space.”
[1] Omnis Investments Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA and is the Authorised Corporate Director of the Omnis Fund Range.