US fund manager takes over Investec's Rensburg

US FUND manager Franklin Templeton is to increase its involvement in UK equities through the £45 million takeover of Investec-owned Rensburg Fund Management.

The all-cash deal, announced yesterday, is subject to regulatory approval and is expected to complete early next year, giving Templeton improved access to British investors keen on managers with local knowledge.

Franklin Templeton runs one UK equity fund from Toronto, the Templeton UK Equity fund, which returned an estimated 2.1 per cent in the year to 31 October, underperforming peers by 12.4 percentage points, according to data by Lipper Global.

Rensburg Fund Management employs six investment managers and had 880m in assets under management at the beginning of November.

Investec has been mulling the sale of the Leeds-based fund management arm of its British wealth management unit Rensburg Sheppards since July.