Martin Currie overhauls Income fund for McKenzie

Martin Currie is to restructure its oeic range next month following the recent hire of Morley's Scott McKenzie, A-rated by Citywire.

The changes will see the group merge a number of funds and seek Ucits III authorisation for all its onshore and offshore pooled funds.

The biggest change is in the £30 million Martin Currie Income, which will be handed to McKenzie, who was hired from Morley last month and who joins in November. The fund will be renamed UK Equity Income and will take on a new investment objective of achieving above average income from an equity portfolio, whereas it previously aimed for rising income from equities, bonds and convertibles.

'This is the sort of objective Scott McKenzie had in his fund at Morley and feels comfortable with, and he'll implement this approach at Martin Currie,' a spokesman said.

The £10 million Martin Currie Balanced Portfolio will also be merged into this fund in order to lower total expense ratios and create a fund of around £40 million in size for McKenzie.

Meanwhile, the group's £10 million Pan European fund will be merged into Dino Fuschillo's £25 million Martin Currie European fund. The move, due to limited demand for pan-European funds, is also designed to lower total expense ratios, the group claims.

'We want to make our entire fund range attractive to the retail market,' said managing director of marketing, distribution and product management Andy Sowerby.

'This means giving our managers the freedom to perform, and to reduce costs wherever possible. In particular, we believe that Scott McKenzie's forthcoming arrival will enable us to make a real impact in the hugely important UK equity income sector.'