LONDON - Sedgwick Noble Lowndes Ltd.'s new managed funds division is targeting the U.K. defined benefit sector.
Started a year ago, the Flexifund service originally was designed to offer a manager-of-managers approach to U.K. defined contribution schemes, principally group personal pensions.
Now, consultant Sedgwick Noble Lowndes has hired Philip Nash as managing director of the managed funds division with the mandate of expanding the business.
Mr. Nash, who until recently was a third-party marketer and co-owner of Cygnet Management Services Ltd., London, said the managed funds division initially will target Sedgwick Noble Lowndes' pension fund client base. Eventually, non-consulting clients will be approached.
"The idea is to make it into quite a substantial business," he said. Mr. Nash said he will work closely with Andrew Kirton, managing director, investment consulting, in designing appropriate strategies for the defined benefit marketplace.
Mr. Nash said Sedgwick Noble Lowndes' very sizable base of medium-sized clients, between L5 million ($8 million) and L25 million ($40 million), is ideally suited for manager-of-manager approaches. The firm now uses seven managers with distinct investment styles for its product, which so far has attracted L20 million in assets.
