Witan hands more to Marathon

28th Jul 2010 08:30

Investment trust Witan has appointed Marathon Asset to manage a pan-European portfolio of c£120m, combining part of its existing UK-only mandate with Witan and the Europe ex-UK mandate previously managed by Wellington Management. Witan said the move gives Marathon the unconstrained ability to pick stocks across the wider pan-European index. Varenne Capital, Witan's other pan-European manager, will continue to manage a smaller private equity style portfolio.The trust added it has used equity index futures to increase its equity exposure since early June and to maintain market exposure during the recent transition from Wellington to Marathon. "Marathon is a well established manager of European equities with an outstanding track record. By broadening their mandate we have increased their universe of stocks and therefore their scope to find the best companies in sectors that meet their capital cycle investment strategy," said Andrew Bell, Witan's chief executive.