Following the announcement that Ian McVeigh will step down as co-manager of the Jupiter UK Growth fund at the end of April and pass on sole responsibility to co-manager Steve Davies, Square Mile has taken the decision to move the fund's rating to an 'A'. This change moves the UK Growth fund's rating in line with that of Undervalued Assets, a fund that Mr Davies has managed as sole manager using a very similar approach since January 2012. Whilst we recognise that Mr McVeigh's shift away from day to day fund management is a loss in terms of experience and market/stock debate, we hold Mr Davies in high regard and view him as a capable and thoughtful investor.

It was also announced that Jupiter plans to merge the Undervalued Assets fund into the UK Growth Fund. This will be subject to both regulatory and unitholder approval but we consider it to be a natural and sensible decision and anticipate that the combined product will maintain its rating.