Favouring value over quality as an investment style, van Eyk has restructured the international equities portfolio of Blueprint, its multi-manager product.

Global Currents, the value manager spun-out of Legg Mason affiliate Brandywine Global in 2008, has been apportioned a 13 per cent slice of the $206 million portfolio.

The addition was made at the expense of Walter Scott, a Macquarie Professional Series affiliate, whose allocation was cut to 20 per cent of the portfolio.

This reflected van Eyk’s preference for value managers over quality styles in the current environment, Mark Thomas, an executive at the company, said.

“At the moment we have a very high quality tilt with Walter Scott. We did feel that quality was the most important, but we’re starting to broaden that thinking,” Thomas said.

“Our research suggests that we should focus on managers who make more stock-specific calls.”

Barclays Global Investors‘ Fission fund, an index product, was been cut from the portfolio in favour of Macquarie’s True Index product, due to some operational changes, Jacqui Lemon, product manager at van Eyk, said. The fund runs 10 per cent of the capital in the portfolio.

The other managers in the international equities pool are T. Rowe Price, which holds 27 per cent; Arrowstreet, which runs 20 per cent; and Aberdeen, which manages 10 per cent.