Blow for fund giant Jupiter as star money manager quits

CITY investment fund Jupiter has announced the departure of its star money manager, sending shares tumbling.

Ben Whitmore, who manages nearly a fifth of Jupiter’s assets, will leave in July after almost two decades with the fund to launch his own boutique firm, it was announced yesterday. The high-profile exit will raise the pressure on Jupiter, which also revealed that investors had pulled more money than expected from its funds last year.

The FTSE 250 business saw £2.2bn was withdrawn from its funds last year, despite previously forecasting that outflows would be “modest”.

It blamed funding delays from institutional mandates and low confidence among retail investors in October and November after outflows were “incrementally more negative” than feared.

Jupiter’s share price closed nearly 15pc lower last night following the announcements.

It comes as Matthew Beesley, Jupiter’s chief executive, embarks on plans to slash costs and close funds in an effort to overhaul the asset manager’s offering. Jupiter, founded in 1985, manages equity and bond investments on behalf of private and institutional investors. It was previously led by Edward Bonham Carter, brother of actress Helena Bonham Carter.

Mr Whitmore, who joined Jupiter in 2006, currently manages £10bn of assets at Jupiter. This includes its £2.16bn Special Situations Fund, its £1.6bn Income Trust and segregated portfolios worth £4.8bn.

Mr Beesley said: “Having worked at Jupiter since 2006, Ben informed me of his ambition to set up a new independent value equities boutique which has been a long-term personal aspiration for him.

“I would like to thank him sincerely for his contribution to the company and, after he leaves Jupiter, wish him well for the future.”

Mr Whitmore’s new boutique firm will not be allowed to compete with Jupiter for two years after his leaving date. However, Jupiter is currently in negotiations with Mr Whitmore to decide whether “it would be in the best interest of clients” for him to continue running its £1bn Global Value Unit Trust once his boutique is established.

Jupiter said it has recruited Alex Savvides, who currently manages more than £2bn of assets at rival JO Hambro Capital Management, to run its UK Special Situations Fund from the autumn.

Jupiter expects to record more than £10m in performance fees for 2023, beating previous expectations.