Aviva Investors has been bulking out its active equities capabilities in the hope that clients will fall back in love with stock pickers. But the £353bn fund manager could face an uphill battle trying to persuade investors to switch allegiance from cheaper passive products, which continue to gather assets at a rapid rate.

Aviva’s plan to grow its muscle in actively managed equities investment strategies (as opposed to passive strategies that aim to replicate the performance of a benchmark, largely removing the human element) began in earnest this year with the appointment of Standard Life Investments’ former star manager David Cumming.