Alliance Trust has been forced to deny a conflict of interest in the proposed appointment of new investment managers.
Shareholders will next week decide whether to ratify a proposal by the Dundee-based Trust’s board to appoint Willis Towers Watson (WTW) to run its investments.
Ahead of the vote, the Trust said it had received questions about WTW’s participation in a strategic review that ultimately led to the decision to outsource the investment function.
The Trust said WTW’s participation in the review was limited to a “clearly defined role as an investment consultant” and, along with others, assisted the board in reviewing its arrangements before stepping out.
The board said it then carried out its own analysis of the situation and a further shareholder consultation was held on the issue before a competitive process was held to identify a preferred manager to run its billions of pounds of assets.
That process resulted in WTW being identified as the preferred manager – a decision that was communicated to investors in December.
The Trust said it and its advisers believe that any potential conflict of interest for WTW in the review process was “appropriately managed.”
The Trust said it believed there to be no conflict in the group’s proposed appointment as investment manager and again reiterated its recommendation to shareholders to vote in favour of WTW’s appointment.
