US investment giant John Hancock is set to drop Edinburgh-based Aberdeen Standard Investments from its $925 million Global Absolute Return Strategy (Gars), according to a report on citywireselector.com that cites a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The report said John Hancock will replace Aberdeen Standard Investments with Nordea Investment Management and will change the name of the fund to the John Hancock Multi-Asset Absolute Return fund.

“Since 1988, John Hancock Investment Management has specialized in oversight of managers to ensure the investment teams hired on behalf of shareholders are meeting expectations and achieving intended investment outcomes over the long term,” a John Hancock spokesperson told citywireselector.com.

“We continually review our product lineup to ensure that each fund serves the best interests of shareholders.

“Changing managers is not a decision we make without a great deal of research and deliberation.”

The web site quoted an Aberdeen Standard Investments spokesperson as saying: “Gars has shown clear evidence of an improvement in performance so far this year.

“Under the leadership of Aymeric Forest the team is working well together and we have put in place new processes to help strengthen the idea generation that is central to the portfolio.

“Gars continues to attract gross flows and still plays an important part in a diversified portfolio.

“Aberdeen Standard Investments remains committed to providing long term investment vehicles for US investors to our Gars strategy, which we intend to announce to the market place in due course.”