Witan hands £120m Europe mandate to Marathon

The Witan investment trust has handed a £120m pan-European mandate to Marathon Asset Management.

The appointment combines part of Marathon's existing UK-only mandate with the Europe ex-UK portfolio previously managed by Wellington Management. Varenne Capital Partners, Witan's other pan-European manager, will continue to manage a smaller private equity-style portfolio, with further European exposure achieved via three global managers. The £979m trust's managers have also increased the use of derivatives, employing index futures to enhance its equity exposure since early June. "The backdrop to these changes is that the multi-manager approach adopted by Witan in 2004 has been sho...