Polar Capital Holdings has announced the appointment of Nick Evans, who was until recently at Axa Framlington Investment Management, as a senior fund manager in its technology team.

Polar Capital Holdings has announced the appointment of Nick Evans, who was until recently at Axa Framlington Investment Management, as a senior fund manager in its technology team.

Evans joined Axa Framlington in August 2000 and was lead manager of the Axa Framlington Global Tech and AWF Framlington Global Tech funds. Previously he spent just nearly three years at Hill Samuel Asset Management, as an assistant investment manager of UK pension funds and subsequently as an investment manager of pan-European equities.

'We are delighted that Nick has decided to join us,' says Polar Capital chief executive Mark Kary. 'The decision to recruit him is part of our strategy to invest further in our technology unit, ahead of what we believe will be a very compelling multi-year period of outperformance in the asset class.'

London-based Polar Capital was founded in December 2000 by Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley, who were previously responsible for the management of Henderson Global Investors' technology funds, with Caledonia Investments as a founding shareholder.

Kary joined from Morgan Stanley in April 2005 and last October the firm concluded an agreement with a subsidiary of Bermuda-based insurer XL Capital, which has committed to provide up to $175m in investment seed capital to support the launch of new funds.

Polar Capital currently has a staff of 56 including 34 investment professionals managing 16 funds, one managed account and two advisory relationships. The funds, which are aimed at institutional and professional investors, had USD3.8bn in combined assets under management at the end of June.

Polar Capital's first business unit focused on the technology sector, and subsequent recruitment resulted in the establishment of the Japan and UK teams (2001), Europe (2003), global emerging markets (2004), utilities (2005), and macro and global opportunities (2006).