7 February 2018
Change in Portfolio Manager
Schroder Japan Growth Fund plc (the "Company") announces that Masaki Taketsume will be assuming formal responsibility for the management of the Company's portfolio from 1 July 2019. Masaki has been at Schroders for over a decade, and this appointment represents the execution of the long-term succession plan for Andrew Rose who has decided to retire from the industry at the end of June 2019.
Masaki has been a member of Schroders' Japanese equity team since 2007, initially as a technology analyst and since 2017 as a full-time fund manager working alongside Andrew. His career in investment began with fund management roles at both Nikko Asset Management from 1994 and Deutsche Trust Bank from 1998.
In managing the portfolio, Masaki will continue to draw upon Nathan Gibbs's experience and perspectives from his 35 years in Japanese equities. Nathan, who relocated to London from Tokyo in 2016, will contribute to portfolio strategy and debate, as well as interacting with Schroders' investment resources in London. Nathan's existing responsibilities as Investment Director are unchanged.
The succession plan ensures investment continuity and there will be no change in terms of the team-based approach that Schroders has always employed for the portfolio. Schroders' research team in Tokyo will continue to play an integral role and will ensure that the portfolio manager in London maintains access to the well-established information flows within the Japanese equity team. In addition to the London team, Schroders has three fund managers in Tokyo running separate strategies, and all draw ideas from the same research team of 8 sector analysts and 3 small cap specialists. At the end of December 2018, the combined team managed a total of £11.4bn in Japanese equities.
The Chairman, Anja Balfour, commented:
"Andrew has managed our portfolio for 11 years and the Board would like to thank him for his long and loyal service and wishes him well for his retirement. The succession plan has been a number of years in the making, Andrew has backed Masaki as a natural successor, having been an integral part of Schroders' Japanese Equity Team since 2007 and has collaborated with him on portfolio management since 2014. Masaki's relocation to London in 2017 was a critical step in this formal transition process."
Enquiries:
Anja Balfour
Chairman 020 7658 3206
John Spedding
Head of Investment Trusts, Schroders 07795 126612
This announcement is deemed by the Company to contain inside information as defined under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) No. 596/2014.
