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* Move follows period of underperformance
* Shares in the trust flat, outperform FTSE mid-caps
* Invesco says no plans to change investment style
(Adds comment from chairman and adviser, updates shares)
By Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessop
LONDON, Dec 11 (Reuters) - Edinburgh Investment Trust
, which said it has suffered from a prolonged period of
underperformance, has replaced Invesco's Mark Barnett as
its investment manager.
The London-listed trust, which has a market capitalisation
of 1.1 billion pounds ($1.4 billion), said on Wednesday the move
followed disappointing returns due to "a number of
stock-specific issues". It said it has appointed Majedie Asset
Management as its new manager, with James de Uphaugh as the
portfolio manager.
Holdings in Eddie Stobart, Amigo and
Burford Capital had been particularly poor performers,
the trust's chairman Glen Suarez told Reuters.
Barnett, head of UK equities at Invesco, worked with veteran
fund manager Neil Woodford at Invesco before Woodford left to
set up his own now-closed firm, and has come under pressure this
year.
Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at investment
platform Willis Owen, said the trust had "finally run out of
patience with Barnett’s contrarian style".
The trust posted a 3.1% fall in net asset value in the six
months to Sept. 30. Its shares were unchanged at 603 pence at
1030 GMT, compared with a 0.7% fall in the FTSE 250 index
. In the year to date, shares in the trust are up 1.2%,
lagging an 18% gain in the FTSE 250.
Invesco said in a statement that it was "disappointed", but
had no plans to change the way it invested.
"We remain of the conviction that our investment strategy is
sound," it said. "We believe there will be a revision of current
market consensus and that we are on the cusp of this potential
being realised."
The replacement of Invesco as manager comes a day before a
British election expected to result in a majority for the ruling
Conservatives, a prospect which has boosted the pound.
"We are not changing the focus on UK equities - to the
extent there is a bounce in the UK, this portfolio has the same
opportunities to profit from it," Suarez said.
Invesco last month appointed long-serving Invesco fund
manager Martin Walker to act as co-head of UK equities alongside
Barnett. The move followed a year of heavy outflows from funds
managed by Barnett as well as by the broader group.
Barnett's UK Strategic Income, High Income and Income funds
saw combined outflows of just over 2 billion pounds in the 12
months to Sept. 30, data from industry tracker Morningstar
showed.
($1 = 0.7794 pounds)
(Reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Simon Jessp, editing by Mike
Harrison)
