Simon Read: Why you should care about fund manager changes

The people's champion

But if you are interested in investing, you should have heard of Sanjeev Shah

You may not have heard of Sanjeev Shah (pictured). But if you are interested in investing, you should. And, in turn, you should now find out more about Alex Wright.

Moves involving these men announced this week are much more important than the headline-grabbing transfers of highly-paid footballers such as Gareth Bale and Mesut Ozil.

Why? Because they manage millions of pounds of investors' cash. If you care about what's happening to your hard-earned savings, then you should know about – and understand – the people who invest it on your behalf.

If you don't like their methods, then you should switch to a fund manager that you do believe in. To explain, Sanjeev Shah took over running the popular £2.8bn Fidelity Special Situations Fund from legendary manager Anthony Bolton five years ago. This week it was announced he is stepping aside to be replaced by Alex Wright.

If you're in the fund there's no reason to panic as Alex has been with Fidelity for 12 years, during which he worked closely with both Anthony Bolton and Sanjeev Shah. In football terms it's like the famed Liverpool boot room, which produced a succession of successful managers from Bill Shankley onwards.

For investors such changes should give pause for detailed thought. Should you now invest in the fund? Or get out of it? The right manager is crucial to the success of an active fund, and is therefore crucial to the growth of your savings.