Rothschild Asset Management Re-Launches Retail Fund Business

by Carla Johnson, Investors Offshore.com

08 October 2001

As part of its strategy to regain its position as one of the leading investment management companies in the UK, Rothschild Asset Management has announced plans to re-launch its retail business to reflect a more consumer-friendly and contemporary offering to investors.

The Rothschild group is a major international investment organisation with assets under management in excess of US$38.3 billion and operations in over 15 countries. The company intends to develop the retail business more effectively, using the updated brand 'Five Arrows - the investment funds of Rothschild'.

Under the Five Arrows brand, Rothschild aims to: launch its first retail national advertising campaign; introduce the Five Arrows Monthly Income Fund to enhance Rothschild's OEIC offering; re-brand the market-leading Five Arrows Private Portfolio Service as the Five Arrows Wealth Management Service; and introduce a new European strategy to the service.

In a statement Paul Manduca from Rothschild explains: 'Despite some good investment performance, the company has over the years under-exploited its opportunities in the investment management business, particularly in the retail market. With the support of the Rothschild family, we have established an ambitious team of fund managers determined to build a high quality business.'

He adds: 'While we have been very successful in one part of the retail market - multi-manager investment funds - our own mutual funds have not been marketed successfully, despite the recent improving trend in performance. We want to rectify that and raise our profile with this launch.'

Rothschild intends to raise its profile significantly on a long-term basis starting with a high-profile, national advertising campaign. However, the company confirms that IFAs will continue to be the primary distribution channel for Rothschild investment products.

Nick Hodgson, Head of Retail at Rothschild, says: 'We are improving our overall product offering, starting with our multi-manager service. This service is already the market leader, but we know that competition is increasing, with many new distributors targeting what they describe as the mass affluent. We prefer to look at our approach as providing a wealth management solution for IFAs to recommend to their clients.'

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