Montgomery appoints PM for new small caps fund

Montgomery Investment Management has announced the appointment of Gary Rollo as co-portfolio manager of the Montgomery Small Companies Fund.

Rollo previously spent three years at MHOR Asset Management in Sydney as the firm's founder and portfolio manager of the MHOR Australian Small Cap Fund. Before that, he spent six years as a portfolio manager at Renaissance Asset Management in Sydney and previously spent five years in London running Morgan Stanley's technology sector equity research team, as well as two years covering technology companies for JP Morgan.

In his new role, Rollo will lead management of the Montgomery Small Companies Fund with fellow MHOR portfolio manager Dominic Rose.

Montgomery's chief investment officer, Roger Montgomery, said: "We're delighted to welcome the exceptionally experienced Gary and Dominic to Montgomery."

Rollo added: "We're very excited about the small companies arena, having lived it for years now. Smaller companies often have exceptional growth prospects but are under-researched by brokers. That can create great opportunities to buy in at sensible prices for those with the time and expertise to learn about them."

The Montgomery Small Companies Fund opens on 20 September and will typically invest in a high conviction portfolio of 30 to 50 small companies listed in Australia and New Zealand, and pre-IPO opportunities, the firm said. The fund will be managed through a new joint venture called Montgomery Lucent Investment Management.