Jeremy Tigue, manager of the £2.56bn Foreign & Colonial Investment Trust, is filling the role of CIO at F&C while the firm seeks a replacement for Arnab Banerji.
Banerji is scheduled to formally depart F&C in mid-August to take up a public sector appointment, but has been absent from the position since announcing his resignation in mid-July.
Tigue said there had been no change in the way the group's asset allocation committee operates and he expects a new CIO to be appointed in coming weeks. Tigue will not be filling the job on a permanent basis.
The investment trust last week declared a first half dividend of 1.05p per share, up from 1p a year earlier. The firm forecast a total dividend of 3.45p for the year, up 4.5% from 2001.
The trust's net assets declined by 10.5% to £2.108bn over the six months to 30 June, while earnings per share fell 1.2% to 2.57p over the same period.
Tigue said he expects the market to recover in the second half of the year, and is therefore increasing the trust's equity investment and building up its gearing level from 10% towards 15%.
He predicts the market will remain a 'bumpy and uncertain ride' and the focus for now is on individual, financially strong companies with good dividends rather than sector calls.