Should you stick with Gartmore?

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER
Updated:

 

Fund management giant Gartmore has been sold to a US group - triggering worries for its half-a-million individual savers. Fortunately experts say there is no real cause for concern.

NatWest put Gartmore up for sale in October last year as part of a defence against hostile bids after its cosy deal to merge with Legal & General fell through.

Royal Bank of Scotland now owns NatWest, and just sold the Gartmore investment group.

Uncertainty always surrounds companies that are sold, but investors are being urged not to sell up in panic.Gartmore's head of corporate communications, Peter Yandle, says that the company's star retail fund managers such as Gervaise Williams, in charge of UK smaller companies, UK growth head Tim Gregory and manager of the £1.5 billion European Selected Opportunities fund Roger Guy, are all in place with no plans to move. Mr Yandle says: 'Our fund managers are very important, but we have very clearly defined investment processes with more than 100 investment professionals and they are all instrumental in delivering results.' Independent financial advisers reckon that now is not the time to start bailing out of Gartmore's funds.

They argue that some funds have good track records and that as yet there is no good reason to jump ship. However, independent financial adviser Willis National manager Lynne Maltby says that two Gartmore fund managers in Scotland, managing about £800 million in investment trust money are rumoured to be about to move. Savers need to monitor them carefully.

The two managers, Diane Wilde and Russ Watson, help run the Gartmore British Income & Growth Trust, Gartmore High Income Trust, Gartmore Scottish Investment Trust, Gartmore Shared Equity Trust, Gartmore SNT, Gartmore Split Capital Opportunities Trust and the Second Scottish National Trust.

The company says it is currently in discussions with them. Lynne Maltby says: 'If Gartmore is going to lose good fund managers from funds where performance is related to historic ability, then you have to keep a watching brief on them.' Kim North, of IFA Calkin Pattinson, says that Gartmore has turned in good performance and singles out the European Selected Opportunities and the Irish Smaller Companies investment trust, which has just changed its name to the Gartmore Irish Growth Fund, run by Gervaise Williams, which has come third out of 80 funds over five years. She says: 'If the fund managers were to move and the performance fall, then it would be time to get out, but it would be far too early now.' 'For the moment investors should stay put.'

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