Andrew Formica to return home

Andrew Formica will step down as chief executive of Jupiter Fund Management, the role he took on after leaving Janus Henderson in late 2018.

Formica has notified Jupiter's board that he intends to retire as chief executive and a director on its board, effective October 1.

He was chief executive of the UK-based firm for three years. Prior, he was chief executive of Henderson Group and then co-chief executive of Janus Henderson alongside Dick Weil.

Formica plans to relocate back to Australia, something Jupiter says he was always transparent about.

"Andrew has always been clear with the board that his longer-term plans would involve the relocation back to his native Australia with his family. With the initial phase of Jupiter's business transformation completed he feels now is the right time to hand over the leadership of the business, to enable the next phase to have consistent and strong leadership throughout that period," Jupiter said.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Formica said: "I just want to go sit at a beach and do nothing. I'm not He will remain with the business until 30 June 2023 to assist with some of the group's strategic objectives, including developing its offering in Australia.

Commenting on his decision, Formica noted the challenges he's faced during his tenure; in his time as chief executive, the group's share price has halved.

"Jupiter is a client-led business, and I am proud to have worked with such a fantastic and dedicated team as we navigated an extremely challenging period for the business and markets. Despite those challenges, we continued to deliver for our clients with strong investment performance and our focus on high conviction active management," he said.

"Whilst it is always hard to find the right time to hand over, we have made significant progress against our strategic priorities ensuring that Jupiter is now a more diversified and resilient business, has enhanced positions in critical areas such as sustainability and data science and has the right building blocks in place to support long term growth."

Also commenting, Jupiter chair Nichola Pease said Formica leaves with the board's best wishes: "Andrew has been an excellent leader throughout a highly challenging period for the business, the industry and indeed the world; his expertise and vision have strengthened our underlying business and driven progress towards our long-term strategic objectives."

In the coming months Formica will assist with the transition of leadership to the group's new chief executive, Matthew Beesley.

Beesley is currently Jupiter's chief investment officer and has also been promoted to deputy chief executive with immediate effect. He only joined the group in January.

"He has made a significant impact across the business since his appointment and the board have been impressed with his strategic insights, leadership skills and unwavering focus on client outcomes," Jupiter said.

"Having undertaken a thorough review of potential internal and external candidates with the assistance of external advisers, the board is pleased to select Matthew as the group's next chief executive to lead the business in its next phase of development."

Beesley was previously chief investment officer at Artemis Investment Management and has also held senior investment roles with GAM Investments and was head of global equities at Henderson Global Investors.