Pan-Holding, one of Europe's oldest mutual funds, has entered a new era of its 77-year life with the appointment of the boutique run by Béatrice Philippe, a high-profile French fund manager and grand-daughter of its founder, as its investment manager.

Pan-Holding, a $271m (€191m) global equities fund, was founded in 1931 by Raymond Philippe, a senior partner at Lazard Frères. It survived World War Two by relocating its assets to Panama, hence its name, and then moving back to Luxembourg following Raymond's son Pierre's escape from Colditz, a German prison camp.