Mainland PR appointed to launch SocGen’s new PEP

SocGen Asset Management, the unit trust company formed by former

Morgan Grenfell fund manager Nicola Horlick, has appointed Mainland

Public Relations to handle PR for the launch of its new PEP product on 2

March.

Horlick is joint managing director of SocGen along with John Richards, a

former director at Mercury Asset Management. Its product will qualify as

a PEP and it hopes to sell to retail customers. It is also trying to

attract institutional clients and aims to have pounds 5 billion invested

within five years.

PR activity focusing on national and specialist titles will be

accompanied on launch by a national press ad drive. Neil Mainland,

managing director of Mainland PR, said: ’It’s a high profile account

working with interesting people who have a solid product offering.’

SocGen, which is backed by French bank Societe Generale, is also

considering entering the pensions market. Minimum investment in its PEP

product is pounds 1,000.

Before establishing SocGen, Horlick used City PR firm Cardew and Company

to handle her personal PR following her dismissal from her pounds 1

million job at Morgan Grenfell. Cardew no longer acts for Horlick who it

helped dub ’City superwoman’. She is still involved in a legal dispute

with Morgan Grenfell.

SocGen Asset Management plans up to six more unit trust products for

release later this year. These include technology, European, Jap-anese

and UK smaller companies trusts.