M&G Global Leaders to merge into M&G Global Themes

23 March 2018 – M&G has announced that, subject to shareholder approval, they plan to merge the M&G Global Leaders fund into the M&G Global Themes fund. If approved, the merger will take place on 25 May 2018.

In November last year, Aled Smith, the manager of M&G Global Leaders fund, announced that he was leaving the company. This prompted a review of the fund and the conclusion reached by M&G is that, Jamie Horvat, who manages the M&G Global Themes fund, is best placed to take on the assets under his mandate. This is because they have similar aims and similar risk characteristics.

In a letter to shareholders, the company said: “We believe that it is potentially confusing for investors to have two funds with very similar mandates managed by the same manager, which would be the case if the proposed merger is not approved. In addition, with the remit of the M&G Global Themes Fund recently broadened, the funds’ portfolio construction and holdings would likely converge over time. Therefore, we have concluded that it would be in the best interest of investors for the two funds to merge subject to a M&G Global Leaders fund shareholder vote.”

Investors in the fund have the option of having their investment merged in the M&G Global Themes fund, to switch into another fund or to redeem their holding as cash.