AAA-rated Moore to replace Robertson on SLI Equity Income Trust

Thomas Moore has been appointed as co-manager of the Standard Life Investments (SLI) Equity Income Trust, with the aim of the AAA-rated income star taking full control of the vehicle next year.

Moore, who has served as an SLI equities director since 2006 and manages the SLI UK Equity Income Unconstrained fund, will assist Karen Robertson on the day-to-day running £107 million vehicle and over the course of 2012 take over full leadership.

'Thomas has assisted Karen Robertson with the management of the company's portfolio for the past two years, attending both board meetings and the annual general meeting and regularly presenting to existing and potential shareholders,' the board said, announcing Moore's appointment.

Moore (pictured) joined SLI in 2002 after four years working in the financial services industry. Since his appointment the manager has built a strong track record, delivering 75.8% over the past three years via his Citrywire Selection SLI UK Equity Income Unconstrained fund versus 45.9% by its FTSE All Share benchmark.

Change in strategy

After taking control of Robertson's closed-ended vehicle, which trades at 270.5p per share and at a 4% discount, Moore will gradually tilt his new portfolio away from its current index-constrained approach in favour of adopting a strategy more similar to his open-ended fund in which many of  his top 10 positions are high yielders like Royal Dutch Shell, Legal & General, Imperial Tobacco and RSA.

A heavy weighting towards these stocks has allowed Moore's open-ended vehicle to take positions in some of SLI's most favoured equities, where even if the yield is initially lower, SLI believes the stocks can grow their dividend over time.

Moreover, the change in strategy planned for the SLI Equity Income Trust will involve more emphasis being placed on the manager's best ideas, rather than linking its absolute performance to the performance of major FTSE stocks.

At times this will trigger a higher weighting towards FTSE 250 stocks, which have historically proved more robust than their large cap peers when it comes to growing their dividends.

'Focus on generating consistent income - taking a less index-constrained approach - is perfectly compatible with a focus on consistent income,' a spokesman for SLI told Wealth Manager.