Star fund manager to stay on

FUND manager Anthony Bolton has announced that he will continue to manage his Fidelity Special Situations fund until at least the end of 2006.

The news will be welcome relieve for investors in what is the UK's largest Oeic fund. Bolton, 54, is one of the City's longest-serving and well-respected fund managers. His departure would leave a question mark over future performance of the fund. He had previously only promised to stay until 2005.

Bolton has run the Special Situations fund since 1979. It is the best performing UK-focused unit trust over that time. If you had invested £1,000 in 1979, it would now be worth £80,000.

Bolton's commitment to extend his management of the fund will provide a degree of certainty for investors, says Patrick Connolly, IFA at John Scott & Partners. 'Until now there has been some speculation that Bolton would leave at short notice,' he said. But he added: 'Investors still need to be aware that the strong, long-term management of this fund will not go on forever.'

The prospect of the end of Bolton's management of the £4bn Special Situations fund, albeit delayed, has not yet deterred investors from backing it. 'It is still seeing huge growth,' said Fidelity spokesman Richard Miles.

'Anthony is surrounded by a team of people who spend a lot of time and resources looking at different companies and, whoever manages the fund on his departure, that process is not going to go away.'

Fidelity insisted that the European fund Bolton passed over to colleague Tim McCarron over a year ago - which sparked rumours of Bolton's imminent retirement - had been very successful. However, Connolly said: 'The Special Situations fund is more difficult to manage as it focuses on small to medium-sized companies.'

Fidelity said investors in the Special Situations fund will be given six months notice when Bolton quits. The US company, the world's largest independent fund manger, also confirmed that Bolton does not want to be managing money beyond age 60.

Bolton, a pro-active investor, is also known for his role in blocking Carlton chairman, Michael Green, from becoming chairman of ITV last year. Fidelity was a large shareholder in Carlton and Granada. Bolton's intervention earned him the City nickname of the Quiet Assassin.