Mark Whitehead was appointed head of the new equity income team at Martin Currie Investment Management, a spokeswoman said.
The position is new; Mr. Whitehead will start in the fourth quarter, but a date is not yet set.
The new team was created following growth in equity income assets under management to £517.4 million ($790.8 million) and a restructuring of resources, the spokeswoman said. The team includes managers Alan Porter, Ross Watson and David Forsyth. The spokeswoman said there are no plans to expand the team.
Mr. Whitehead will report to John Pickard, head of investment at Martin Currie, and will be based in the firm's Edinburgh headquarters.
Mr. Whitehead “has an outstanding track record of running global equity income strategies, and his appointment will significantly deepen our resource and help us to build upon this growing asset class as we strive to establish ourselves as a fund provider of choice in this area,” Mr. Pickard said in a news release.
Mr. Whitehead is currently portfolio manager of Sarasin & Partners' global higher dividend and dividend funds. “(Mr. Whitehead) will be leaving Sarasin & Partners in the year to take up a position outside London,” said a statement provided by a spokesman for the firm. The statement said he will be replaced by Darryl Lucas, who works alongside Mr. Whitehead in the management of the equity income funds.
“We have always taken a collegiate approach to fund management with teams responsible for all our fund ranges and investment mandates,” said Guy Monson, managing partner and chief investment officer at Sarasin & Partners, in the statement. “For the interim period, (Mr. Whitehead) will work within the team to ensure continued strong performance and dividend flows across our income mandates.”
