Martin Currie to merge away Millar's Japan fund

Martin Currie is to cut down the size of its UK-domiciled Japan fund range, merging John Millar's Japan fund into the group's Japan Alpha offering, Investment Week can reveal.

The £46m Martin Currie Japan fund has a similar mandate to the £63m Japan Alpha fund, run by John-Paul Temperley and Claire Marwick. The two funds have delivered similar performance over the last year, returning 10.9% and 14.4% respectively, but have more of a marked difference over the longer term. The Japan fund has lagged the index, returning 26.5% versus a sector average of 37.3%, but the Alpha mandate has delivered 55.6%. The merger, which is subject to shareholder approval, will take place later this year. Millar (pictured), who is investment director and head of Japan at ...