By JANE KOTCHKINA 05/05/2010
Kim Catechis, Head of SWIP’s GEM team, departed Scottish Widows in April 2010 after being poached by rival Martin Currie. SWIP have confirmed that other team members, including Alastair Reynolds and Jeff Casson, also left the company. In May 2010 SWIP joined together their Emerging Markets and Global desks and appointed Mike McNaught-Davis as lead manager for the combined team.
As present the Scottish Widows Latin American fund, previously run by Casson, is overseen by Iain Fulton, Investment Director International Equities. Scottish Widows seem to be uncertain about the strategy of their GEM funds going forward as the current solution is only temporary.
Recommendation
We recommend that investors swich into our recommended First State Latin America fund, which carries a three star rating. We believe that the First State fund is well positioned to benefit from growth in Latin American markets.