Columbia Threadneedle's Colwell: 'I am now a player-manager'

Took over 12-strong team

For many, taking control of a 12-strong team of UK fund managers just one month after June's Brexit vote while continuing to run a number of existing mandates would be a daunting task. But Columbia Threadneedle's Richard Colwell believes a team-based approach has made his transition so far to a 'player-manager' role run smoothly.

Colwell took over as head of UK equities in July last year, following the retirement of his predecessor and overall head of equities, Europe, Leigh Harrison, last May.  On top of his newfound responsibility for a team running nearly £19bn in assets under management, Colwell also continues day-to-day management of Columbia Threadneedle's range of UK income funds, including its flagship £3.6bn UK Equity Income fund, which has outperformed the IA UK Equity Income sector over one, three, and five years, according to FE. Here, Colwell looks at how this new role has affected his responsibil...