US fund giant Fidelity has abandoned its hopes of building a fund management base in Edinburgh, leading to the departure of the two fund managers it had recruited, but its office in the capital will remain open.
US fund giant Fidelity has abandoned its hopes of building a fund management base in Edinburgh, leading to the departure of the two fund managers it had recruited, but its office in the capital will remain open.
The company is cutting several hundred UK jobs as it seeks to cope with the market downturn.
The plans will be finalised by the end of January as the US fund giant seeks to axe 1700 roles worldwide, on top of the 1300 it has already announced.
But it has already moved the running of some UK equity portfolios for institutional investors out of Edinburgh and back to London.
This led to the company letting go on Wednesday of portfolio managers Jonathan Cobb, who joined in the summer of 2007 from Standard Life Investments, and former Scottish Widows Investment Partnership investment director David Urch, who started at Fidelity earlier this year. Another two investment roles have also been axed.
Originally, Fidelity was hoping to establish a 16-strong investment team in the capital and was thought to have approached several high-profile fund managers, including Standard Life Investments' equity income manager Karen Robertson.
Fidelity confirmed last night that its Edinburgh office, which has been operating since May 2007, will remain open. It is thought that around 10 staff, largely in sales roles, are permanently based there with up to another five using it occasionally. It is also used as meeting space for staff based elsewhere when they are north of the border.
When Fidelity announced in September 2006 it was to open the office, chief investment officer Michael Gordon told The Herald: "It is really about trying to access a greater pool of talent. There is a number of people in the Scottish investment com-munity, based in Edinburgh, who are interested in continuing to work in the investment field but don't want to move to London."
