- The culture of ‘star managers’ in the fund management industry has waned in recent years
- Genuine rising stars in fund management are therefore a rare breed, but there are still emerging talents to be found
- AJ Bell looks at the newer funds outperforming their sector peers and the individuals behind those funds
Paul Angell, head of investment research at AJ Bell, comments:
“In the past few years, the ‘star’ in star fund manager culture has diminished somewhat. Many asset managers have preferred to hedge against key person risk by focusing on the strategy and team behind an actively managed fund, rather than riding on the coattails of a standout individual and their process. But that’s not to say there are no longer star managers, or indeed rising stars, within the asset management industry to be found.
“Genuine rising stars in fund management are a rare breed. Fund buyers typically focus on experience and long-term performance track records, making appointing junior fund managers a risk to asset managers. That said, the industry remains a people business. Individuals make investment decisions, and these same individuals typically communicate said decisions onto fund buyers. Bonds of conviction and trust are therefore unavoidably built between fund buyers and individual fund managers.
“Looking across IA sectors over the last five years to the end of May 2025, we found that 52.6% of the 194 funds that have either newly launched, or changed or added a portfolio manager during the period have since outperformed their broader peer group.
Source: Morningstar, data to 30 May 2025.
“Whilst the statistical significance of this outperformance is marginal, particularly given our analysis doesn’t allow for style bias, it does show that funds with shorter manager track records should not be discounted from fund selection processes.
“A rising star manager blends that rare mix of youth, intelligence, confidence, opportunity and good fortune. Firstly, they need sharp intellect that can both develop and execute an investment process in ever-changing financial markets. Second, they need an ability to confidently articulate their investment approach, fund positioning and drivers of performance. Thirdly, they must get the backing of their business in being appointed a named manager on a fund in the first place. And finally, and perhaps the most difficult to achieve, they need a burgeoning track record that evidences their investment capabilities.
“Typically, a rising star will also be flanked by more experienced fund managers, providing counsel and challenge as well as assuaging investor fears about the limited experience of the individual.
“Identifying rising star managers can be tricky for all the above reasons. We’ve therefore decided to dig into the outperforming funds and their managers and pull out some of the strongest, whether the managers are launching new funds or taking over an existing proposition.”
New funds
Jonathan Golan – Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond (IA £ Corporate Bond) and Man Dynamic Income (IA £ Strategic Bond)
“Perhaps the stand-out rising star in the industry, Jonathan Golan was plucked out of the Schroders fixed income team in 2021 following an excellent start to his life as a fund manager. His new employers quickly backed him with the launch of the Man GLG Sterling Corporate Bond fund in September 2021, followed by the launch of Man Dynamic Income in July 2022.
“Since launch, both funds are top of their sectors, significantly outperforming peers thanks to the team's bottom-up approach to credit investing, in which they focus on smaller bonds which they see as undervalued versus larger equivalents. Investors have taken note, with both funds swelling in AUM to between £1.5 billion and £2 billion apiece.”
Joanna Crompton, Timothy Woodhouse and Sophie Wright – JPM Global ESG Equity (IA Global)
Danielle Hines and David Small – JPM US ESG Equity (IA North America)
“Launched in June and October 2021 respectively, these funds managed by Joanna Crompton, Timothy Woodhouse and Sophie Wright (JPM Global ESG Equity) and Danielle Hines and David Small (JPM US ESG Equity) have made an excellent start to life, outperforming their broader sectors (+24.5% and +11.9% respectively to end of May) since launch. This outperformance is made all the more impressive given the vast majority of the ESG investment industry has underperformed over the same period, given higher interest rates and a cooling investor appetite for the theme.
“Despite these funds being relatively concentrated at a stock level, the managers carefully construct the portfolios to ensure they do not overly deviate from their indices’ broad risk characteristics with respect to style, sector allocation and market capitalisation split. The secret sauce of the funds really comes in leveraging off JPM’s large equity analyst team and common approach to stock research, with an emphasis on best-in-class ESG credentials at attractive valuations in these funds. It is this bottom-up stock picking that has generated the bulk of the funds’ relative outperformance to date.”
Rajiv Jain, Brian Kersmanc and Sudarshan Murthy – GQG Partners US Equity
“Launched in February 2021, this fund leverages the broader GQG investment approach, with a truly active approach to portfolio construction that enables the team to quickly rotate the fund’s style and sector allocation based on where they see the most compelling opportunities. Whilst the team do rotate, their approach is rooted in identifying companies with competitive advantages and strong balance sheets that should enable earnings to continuously compound – characteristics synonymous with quality investing.
“GQG Partners remains a relatively young boutique investment management firm founded in 2016 by chairman and CIO Rajiv Jain, and is headquartered in Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Jain set up the company following his departure from Vontobel, where he managed money in a similar vein to the funds he manages at GQG. Brian Kersmanc and Sudarshan Murthy are more recent acquirers of the ‘fund manager’ title.”
Taking over an existing fund
Alex Savvides – Jupiter UK Dynamic
“With 22 years in the market, terming Alex Savvides a ‘rising star’ may be a bit of a stretch, but he is both new to Jupiter and to this fund having joined the business in the second half of 2024. With regards fund performance, life has begun very well at his new employer, delivering +12.4% versus +5.9% for the peer group over his first seven months at the helm.
“Whilst c.50% of the strategy’s AUM exited in 2024 alongside the fund’s previous manager, Ben Whitmore, the remaining investors have so far been well rewarded by this UK value strategy with a bias towards mid-caps.”
Source: Morningstar, data to 30 May 2025.