Witan hands Lansdowne Partners £30m global equity mandate

Witan  has picked hedge fund manager Lansdowne Partners to run a global equity mandate.

The mandate will have an initial value of £30 million and will be invested in accordance with Lansdowne Partners’ newly established Developed Markets Long Only Strategy, which invests in basket of 15-25 stocks.

The mandate will be funded from cash resources, with a small initial increase in short-term borrowings.

In a statement Witan chief executive Andrew Bell (pictured) said: 'This appointment is part of our continuing move to invest more with specialist managers who have innovative and high-conviction approaches towards creating value through stock picking and portfolio construction.'

'Lansdowne Partners’ unconstrained yet analytically- rigorous investment approach fits well with Witan’s objective of seeking returns driven by the individual characteristics of portfolio companies and less dependent upon equity index performance.'

In the three years to end of November Witan's net asset value has risen by 25.7% versus a 24.34% rise in the FTSE World index. The trust is trading at a 12.6% discount.