Alliance Trust and Witan merge to form £5bn FTSE 100 vehicle

Set for lower fees

Witan is to be rolled into Alliance Trust to form Alliance Witan, a £5bn investment trust that will likely be propelled into the FTSE 100.

According to Andrew Ross, chair of Witan, the combination comes as a result of Witan CEO Andrew Bell's retirement, with the merger unanimously recommended by the board. "Since Andrew Bell announced his intention to retire, we have been through an extensive process to identify the best candidate to take on the management of our shareholders' assets," he wrote. "The board assessed a number of very strong proposals, including single-manager candidates with impressive track records. However, the board was unanimous in recommending the combination with Alliance Trust, which allows the cont...