Fund buyer reaction as Schroders swoops for Buxton replacement

Investors and backers of Richard Buxton's UK Alpha Plus fund have reacted positively after the group revealed it has poached well known managers from Jupiter and Neptune to replace the outgoing star.

Schroders moved quickly to fill the void in its UK equities desk left by the departure of Buxton and co-manager Errol Francis, hiring Philip Matthews (pictured) from Jupiter and Alex Breese from Neptune. Matthews - who currently runs the £368m Jupiter Growth & Income fund - is among the top performers in the UK All Companies sector, returning 21.9% over the last year ahead of a peer group average of 16.3%. He has also outperformed over three and five years according to Morningstar (to 5 April), returning 37.5% and 60.1% respectively, versus average gains of 28.1% and 32.1%. Crucial...