James Henderson, FE fundinfo Alpha manager of Law Debenture, the Lowland investment company and the Janus Henderson UK Equity Income & Growth fund, is to retire from Janus Henderson in June 2027 after 44 years in financial services, as announced this morning alongside Law Debenture’s half-year results.
Laura Foll, his co-manager on all three mandates, has been confirmed as taking over all of them.
Henderson first worked on the Law Debenture portfolio in 1994 and took sole lead management responsibility in 2003.
Since then, as trust chairman Robert Hingley noted, Henderson has overseen a net-asset value total return of 1,288% compared to FTSE All-Share total return of 546% over the same period. The chart below shows the share price total return of the trusts over 20 years, during which time both have significantly outperformed their peers and the index.
Performance of fund against index and sector over 20yrs
Source: FE Analytics
It was confirmed there will be no change to either trust's investment objective or strategy once Foll takes sole charge, with Henderson continuing to work with the team until his departure next year.
In the Law Debenture half-year results, Henderson said: "Laura and I have worked closely together for 15 years, including seven years jointly managing the Law Debenture portfolio. I have no doubt that she will continue to be a huge asset to the company and wish her all the best for the years ahead."
At Lowland, chair Helena Vinnicombe said Foll “has played a vital role in delivering for our shareholders over the past 10 years”, adding that the board had “every confidence” in her ability to continue delivering for shareholders.
Outside commentary was reassured by the continuity of the arrangement. Matthew Read, senior analyst at QuotedData, said Henderson's departure “certainly feels like the end of an era”, pointing to a patient, contrarian style that had served investors well across market cycles.
He added that while the retirement of a longstanding manager might ordinarily unsettle investors, shareholders in both trusts could take comfort that Henderson leaves the portfolios “in the very capable hands of Laura Foll, who has worked alongside him for a number of years now”.
Law Debenture also used the half-year results to report a net asset value total return of 11.4% and a share price total return of 16.2% for the six months to 30 June, ahead of the FTSE All-Share's 7.2%, alongside a 6% rise in the first interim dividend to 8.875p.