The chief executive of Jupiter Fund Management is to stand down, the firm revealed today.

Maarten Slendebroek will relinquish his roles as chief executive officer and as a director of the company with effect from 1 March.
 
The Jupiter board has said it intends to appoint Andrew Formica as CEO and as a director with effect from that time, subject to regulatory approvals.
 
Mr Slendebroek has agreed to remain in the business until 1 May “to ensure a smooth leadership transition and handover.”

A company statement read: “Ensuring that appropriate succession planning is in place for the leadership team is one of the most important roles of any board.

“The board of Jupiter had envisaged that any transition in CEO would most likely occur over the next couple of years.

“In developing its succession plans, the board identified Andrew as a potential successor and, in light of his availability at this point in time, has decided, with the support of Maarten, to accelerate these plans.

“With his depth of experience, the board regards Andrew as an outstanding candidate ideally equipped to lead the company in the next phase of its development.”
 
Mr Formica was until 2018 the co-CEO of Janus Henderson Group plc and was previously the chief executive of Henderson Group plc between 2008 and the merger with Janus Capital in 2017.

He was at Henderson from 1998 and held various senior roles, joining the company's executive committee in 2004.

Prior to being appointed chief executive, he served as joint managing director of the listed assets business (from September 2006) and as head of equities (from September 2004).

In the early part of his career, he was an equity manager and analyst for Henderson.

He was the deputy chairman of the board of The Investment Association until September 2018 and has served as a non-executive director of Hammerson plc since November 2015.
 
Liz Airey, chairman of Jupiter, said: “On behalf of the Board, I would like to extend our sincere thanks to Maarten and pay tribute to his significant achievements for this firm, especially following his appointment as chief executive in 2014.

“Maarten was the driving force behind our successful diversification strategy which has taken this firm to a new level, growing substantially from a predominantly UK-focused equities business to one that is today broadly diversified by asset class, geography and channel.

“He is handing over the business in very good shape and will leave in due course with our very best wishes.
 
“We are delighted to have secured someone of Andrew's calibre to succeed Maarten and are particularly appreciative of Maarten agreeing to step down early and remain for a handover period to work with Andrew to ensure a smooth transition.”
 
Mr Slendebroek said: “It has been a privilege to lead Jupiter over the last five years and the company has gone from strength to strength as we have delivered against our strategic ambitions.

“I am particularly pleased that we continued to deliver for our clients, even in more recent times of market volatility, where we maintained strong investment performance after all fees.

“Much has been achieved and so this is the right time for me to hand over.

“The business is in excellent health and I wish my colleagues every success for the future and look forward to working with Andrew on the transition of responsibilities.”

Andrew Formica
 
Mr Formica said: “Jupiter is a tremendous firm and I have been very impressed by its talented people and distinct investment culture.

“I am excited by the firm’s successful diversification strategy and look forward to helping it develop its increasingly global franchise.

“Jupiter's relentless focus on delivering value to clients through genuinely active investing means it is well positioned to succeed in an evolving industry.

“Its track record of strong investment performance for clients has enabled it to deliver significant organic growth, delivering cumulative net flows of some £5.8bn over the last six years.

“I look forward to working with all of my new colleagues at Jupiter and believe the company's growth prospects are strong.”