Mariette Warner and Henk Viljoen of Stanlib Asset Management (STANLIBAM) have been named as the fund's second manager.

Previously the fund was managed solely by Coronation fund Managers.

In future, its assets will be managed on a 50-50 basis by Stanlib Asset Management and Coronation. Rather than reallocating existing assets, the manager split between Coronation and Stanlib Asset Management will be achieved through new cashflows.

Mariette Warner, previously head of the fund management team of Standard Bank Properties, is due to move across to STANLIBAM with her team on July 1.

They have consistently achieved top quartile performance in the JSE's Listed Property sector, the statement said.

Henk Viljoen, who will work in tandem with Warner, is a multi-award winner in the fixed interest arena. He heads STANLIBAM's fixed-interest operations.

Within the STANLIBAM component of the fund, Warner will hold sole responsibility for property stock selection. Viljoen will manage the remaining 'non-property' fixed income assets.

Malcolm Holmes, Chief Investment Officer of Stanlib Multi-Manager, said: "Part of our value proposition as a multi-manager has always been that manager diversification lowers portfolio risk. It was always the intention to diversify the management responsibility once critical mass was achieved."

Stanlib Multi-Manager Flexible Property Fund was launched at the end of 2004. Fund size approached R200 million at the end of its first quarter.

After its first quarter, independent research ranked the fund top of the Domestic Asset Allocation Flexible Property class with a return of 5.91%.