HEAD-TO-HEAD: Eastspring versus T Rowe Price

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Manager review

John Olsen was appointed manager of the Eastspring strategy in July 2014, having joined M&G (which sub-advises the Pan European fund on behalf of Eastspring) from Danske Capital in April 2014. He was at Danske from 1998 as a fund manager on the domestic Danish equities team and in 2000 became a global technology and telecoms sector analyst.

He started managing non-domestic equity portfolios in 2002, and three years later began managing the European Select strategy as a segregated mandate.

“Olsen has developed a robust and repeatable process over his career and brings a well-formed investment philosophy and settled approach to this strategy,” said Meakin.

Although the select team he heads up at M&G has seen some personnel turnover during the past couple of years, “it remains suitably resourced for the strategies it manages using his focused approach, with five managers and analysts supporting Olsen,” he said.

“As head of research for an 18-month period until late-2018, he helped evolve the research process for that team,” he added.

Olsen also manages the Global Select and Positive Impact strategies, while Mike Oliveros, deputy manager of the Eastspring Pan European product, also runs the M&G Pan European Select Smaller Companies fund.

The T Rowe Price fund’s lead manager, Dean Tenerelli, is “well equipped for the task, with nearly 30 years of investment experience overall,” said Meakin.

Tenerelli worked as an equity analyst and assistant portfolio manager at Banesto Bolsa, Artisan, and Credit Suisse in the 1990s. Since joining T Rowe Price in 2000, he has spent time as an equity analyst specialising in European telecommunications stocks, and had responsibility for European stock selection for a US-sold international- equity strategy.

In 2005, Tenerelli took charge of a US-sold European equity vehicle, before running this European Equity product in 2009.

“He has a sizable and strong support team, and works closely with around 20 European specialists, focusing on various sectors, geographies, or small caps in the region, and who have an average 12.5 years of investment experience overall, including seven years at T Rowe Price on average,” said Meakin.

Variable pay is based on the performance of their stock recommendations, and it is refreshing to see analysts’ compensation geared towards a longer-term outlook than is found at most other firms,” said Meakin.

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