Established in 2008, Pensato Capital is an investment management firm owned by former Fidelity fund manager Graham Clapp, which looks after long/short and long only European equity funds worth just under £220m

Mr Clapp previously spent 22 years at Fidelity where he was manager of its £22bn European Growth Fund.

The fund manager will link up with Edward Rumble and Russell Champion, who are senior members of the seven-person investment team that will join RWC, having previously worked together at Fidelity.

RWC Partners look after £8.75bn worth of investments and says it has seen ‘significant growth’ across the last four years.

Graham Clapp said: “It’s very exciting to join RWC at a time when Europe is back on people’s radar.  We have a hugely intensive company meeting programme and believe there is a plethora of opportunity in European equities.  I’ve been investing in the UK and Europe for over 25 years and it remains a really attractive place to be an active fund manager.”

RWC Partners chief executive Dan Mannix said: “Graham has established himself over the last 25 years as one of the great stock pickers in Europe.  He and his team have established a world-class European equity capability which builds on his distinguished career at Fidelity.  As we’ve got to know Graham it’s apparent he is an exceptional investor with an undimmed passion for analysing and investing in stocks.

“We believe that there remains a real demand for exceptional investment teams who are providing something different for investors and we see the competitive environment improving as barriers to entry rise and larger organisation increasingly put the squeeze on their investment teams.”