Hoping to take advantage of attractive valuations in global equities, London-based investment boutique River & Mercantile Asset Management added Alex Stanic to its team in early March. The 37-year-old becomes a partner in the firm, as well as head of global equities, in June. Currently, he leads the global equities team at Newton Investment Management, which is part of Bank of New York Mellon. The team manages £10.5 billion ($15 billion), of which Stanic is responsible for mandates worth £4.5 billion. Stanic couldn’t speak about his new position while still at Newton, but investment industry executives say it’s not easy for boutiques to lure talent from the large firms. “The appeal is obvious — they get to run their own team and build a business — but how do they compensate for the loss of resources a big group can provide?” reflects Debbie Clarke, head of equity manager research at Mercer Investment Consulting in London. James Barham, CEO of R&M, which has raised £1 billion since its launch in 2006, says his firm offers ownership and a transparent structure, without leverage or legacy issues: “It’s like a blank canvas.”
