Henderson Global Investors will change the investment strategy and name of the New Star Technology Unit Trust to the Henderson Global Innovation Unit Trust, with effect from 10 May 2010, if approved by unit holders.

The firm said the changes are intended to differentiate the fund from the Henderson Global Technology Fund and facilitate a new investment approach. The changes form part of the integration of the Henderson and New Star fund ranges into a single administration, taking effect on 6 April 2010.

Following the name changes, the fund's international portfolio involving high technology industries will be changed to one that will invest primarily in innovation-focused securities that the fund's managers consider to be underappreciated but have the ability to deliver high growth levels.

There will be several key differences between the two Henderson funds: the Henderson Global Innovation Unit Trust will be less benchmark aware, with little or no direct correlation with the fund’s new MSCI World Index benchmark, as compared to the Henderson Global Technology Fund, which holds between 50 to 100 stocks. The new Henderson Global Innovation Unit Trust will comprise a high conviction portfolio of between 40 to 60 stocks.

By changing the strategy of investing in only technology related companies, the Henderson Global Innovation Unit Trust will enhance its potential by diversifying into markets such as healthcare and environmental technology, where the managers believe there are significant growth opportunities, the firm said.

Henderson additionally said that expertise from across the firm, such as that of Sustainable & Responsible Investment team, will be leveraged to exploit other areas of growth potential. It is expected that the SRI team, which currently manages more than £720 million (about $1.1 billion) in assets across a range of funds, will provide useful input, in particular concerning growth sectors such as healthcare, cleaner energy and energy efficiency.

The Henderson Global Innovation Unit Trust will be managed by Ian Warmerdam and Stuart O’Gorman, who between them manage in excess of £1.55 billion of assets across six funds at Henderson.

“The proposed changes will allow us to invest in a high conviction portfolio from a broader universe of global securities where we believe there is underappreciated growth. The fund will look to exploit long term secular growth opportunities across a broad and diverse universe of stocks and regions,” said Warmerdam.