Polar Capital wins Skandia Best Ideas mandate

Skandia Investment Group (SIG) has appointed Polar Capital to run a £10m mandate for the Skandia UK Strategic Best Ideas fund.

The mandate will be managed by Philip Hardy, Polar Capital’s lead manager of the UK equity team.

Polar Capital takes over the mandate from Threadneedle. The decision was reached following a review process by Skandia after Paul Findlay, one of the managers of the fund, left Threadneedle.

The fund uses the Best Ideas formula where ten best ideas from ten world class fund managers are combined in a single fund. Each manager has the flexibility to profit from rising share prices and short positions, maximising opportunities to make money.

Skandia says Hardy has a strong track record in investing in UK equities plus experience in hedge fund management.

Ryan Hughes, a fund manager at SIG, says: “When we launched the Best Ideas concept, it was acknowledged that there are more than 10 great fund mangers in the world and we have always kept a ‘reserve bench’ of managers who could be moved into the funds should we feel it necessary.”

The departure of Paul Findlay naturally prompted us to review the mandate that he was running to ensure the fund had the best selection of managers, says Hughes.

"After considerable research, we decided that Polar Capital’s investment philosophy was ideally suited to the UK Strategic Best Ideas. We believe that the boutique structure and culture at Polar Capital combined with the track record and experience of Philip Hardy makes this a very strong appointment to the fund.”

Threadneedle continues to manage a number of mandates across Skandia’s MultiManager funds.