St James's Place ends Woodford mandate

St James's Place has ended its mandate with Woodford Investment Management.

The wealth manager said on Wednesday that it has appointed Columbia Threadneedle and RWC as managers of the UK High Income, UK Equity, and UK Income Distribution funds.

Earlier this week, Neil Woodford - one of the UK's most well-established stock pickers - suspended trading in his largest fund. Woodford Investment Management, which was founded by Woodford in 2014, said on Tuesday that dealing in shares in the flagship Woodford Equity Income Fund had been suspended with immediate effect and until further notice following an "increased level of redemptions".

The firm did not provide further details on the redemptions or say how long the fund would remain gated. However, it was widely reported that the move was prompted by a request from Kent County Council to withdraw its funds.

St James's Place said Richard Colwell of Columbia Threadneedle and Nick Purves of RWC will be jointly responsible for the mandate. Purves is the company's longest-standing fund manager and co-manages the Equity Income Fund, while Colwell has managed money for SJP clients since 2014 as lead manager of the Strategic Managed fund.

"While the St. James's Place funds managed by WIM were separate mandates and not part of the Equity Income Fund suspended earlier this week, the St. James's Place Investment Committee believes these changes will ensure its clients' investments continue to be managed effectively," it said.

"Under new management, these funds will remain as segregated mandates and St. James's Place will retain responsibility for asset custody and security. There will be no impact on the investment objective for these funds."

SJP said the funds' investment criteria will retain "a strong liquidity profile" and remain focused on income, with a weighting to FTSE 350 stocks.