Henderson Smallers poaches Gresham House manager after Hermon's exit

Gresham House small-cap manager Cassie Herlihy is the latest addition to the Henderson Smaller Companies (HSL ) team following long-standing manager Neil Hermon’s retirement this year.

Herlihy will become deputy manager of the £649m UK smaller companies portfolio, working alongside lead manager Indriatti van Hien, who took the helm after Hermon retired after 30 years.

Van Hien said Herlihy’s appointment ‘reflects our ongoing dedication to bottom-up stock-picking, which remains at the heart of our investment philosophy’.

‘Her collaborative approach and proven ability to deliver outperformance make her an excellent addition to the team,’ she said.

HSL chair Penny Freer said Herlihy’s experience, strong track record and investment approach aligns with that of the trust.

‘Her proven expertise will be a great asset to both the company and its shareholders as we continue to seek opportunities in the UK small-cap space,’ she said.

Herlihy joins Janus Henderson’s UK small-cap equities team from Gresham House, where she co-managed the open-ended WS Gresham House UK Smaller Companies fund with Ken Wotton.

The £316m fund is a consistently strong performer, returning 32.5% over three years versus a 25.1% return from the average IA UK Smaller Companies sector, and since launch in 2019, the fund is up 85.2% versus an average 31.7%.

HSL shareholders will no doubt be hoping Herlihy can help bolster the performance of the trust, which has lagged its UK Smaller Companies AIC sector peers, putting it in the sights of activist investor Saba Capital.

Over three years, the trust’s net asset value (NAV) has risen just 9.9% and its shares by 10.6%, against rises of 19.9% and 20.7%, respectively, from the average trust in the sector.

Over five years, returns are even worse, with the NAV up 8.5% against the sector’s 31.6% and the shares have moved just 8.6% higher against 27.8% from the average peer.