Research house van Eyk has reshuffled the multi-manager lineup of its $200 million Blueprint International Shares Fund.
Fund managers Walter Scott and Legg Mason were terminated from the strategy, while allocations to Aberdeen, Arrowstreet and Macquarie were boosted.
The move followed a ratings downgrade on the Legg Mason Global Value Equity Trust and is aimed at consolidating the number of managers within the strategy, van Eyk product manager Jacqui Lemon said.
It would also reduce crossover with the van Eyk Blueprint Global Emerging Markets Fund, she said.
The Walter Scott Global Equity Fund had a 19.5 per cent allocation within the Blueprint International Shares Fund, while the Legg Mason strategy had a 12 per cent weighting.
Their allocations were transferred to the Aberdeen International Equity Fund, Arrowstreet Global Equity Fund and Macquarie True Index International Shares Fund.
The Aberdeen strategy now has the biggest weighting within the Blueprint fund at 30 per cent.
"Van Eyk believes this revised portfolio should increase the excess return delivered over time, albeit at a slightly higher volatility, which van Eyk believes is well suited to the current investment and economic environment," she said.
"Van Eyk has conviction in the stock picking ability of the remaining Underlying Managers rather than tilting to regions or sectors at this time."
The Blueprint International Shares Fund has lost 4.84 per cent annually in the five years to January 2011, compared with a 3.69 per cent decline for the MSCI World ex-Australia Accumulation Index in Australian dollar terms.
