With this move, Ignis is following a trend with Liontrust and Gartmore also announcing plans to extend their European equity fund range.

In the latter two cases, the funds are also the first new launches for managers who are new recruits to the firm from GAM, Ross Hollyman and Rob Cornish at Liontrust and John Bennett at Gartmore.

The three funds are all centred on Europe but they have very different drivers - Ignis is an income fund, the Liontrust European Value Fund will do what it says on the tin while Gartmore's Bennett goes out of his way to say that he does not like splitting stocks into value or growth. He will be running a long/short Pan European strategy.

Comment on Europe is currently dominated by the massive debt run up by Greece and how, or rather who, is going to bail them out; its politicians' and central bank's constant slow speed to react to any crisis; and, its weak standing on the global stage as demonstrated by how it seemed to drop the ball at the recent World Economic Forum in Davos when the US and China virtually ignored European delegations to deal directly with each other.

The obvious question to ask, therefore, is "Why Europe?".

John Husselbee, chief executive of North Investment Partners, gives the diversification argument. "Income is going to be a growing part of the market so the key is to diversify income away from the UK."

He adds that this is one area where a weak euro is an advantage, as it has effectively devalued making European companies extremely competitive.

"Europe has been a sector that has been invested in for many years and if there is an opportuntiy at the moment, that opportunity is along the lines of diversifying income. It continues the line that European companies are more shareholder-friendly - they have been for the past five years or more - and a more shareholder-friendly environment is more beneficial for income."

Husselbee warns though that the UK investor may still take some winning over, adding: "In the UK we are euroeceptic so one thing that hasn't made any traction is pan European funds. People still want to allocate between their domestic market versus Europe."

He is underweight the region and the exposure he does have is through the stock-picking approach of Neptune European.