452 urged to replace Negus quickly

452 Capital will need to restructure quickly to ensure business management continuity in light of Warwick Negus’ departure, analysts have said.

The Commonwealth Bank announced yesterday it had bought Negus’ 30 per cent stake in the Australian equities boutique, and hired him to head up its spun-off investment manufacturing business, Colonial First State Global Asset Management.

Star stockpicker Peter Morgan will retain his 50 per cent stake, and will need to speedily hire somebody to run the business, according to Lonsec senior analyst Grant Kennaway.

“We don’t want to see Peter distracted from what he wants to do, which is just run money,” he said.

No announcements have been made about a replacement for Negus, although some believe that Morgan’s 2IC, portfolio manager Sue-Ellen Henry, may take on some business management responsibilities.

It is understood a desire for simplicity on Morgan’s part lead to Negus’ departure.

“Warwick wanted to do more with the business than Peter did. You had to question what someone of [Negus’] calibre was doing there, once the business was set up and the distribution deal with Colonial First State was in place,” said Morningstar head of research Justin Walsh.

Colonial would benefit from having someone “who is obviously still full of ideas” at the helm of the spun-off investment management business, Walsh continued.

“Obviously his first focus will be on fixing up their global equities and it will be interesting to see what he comes up with,” he said.

No analyst contacted believed 452’s process, or Morgan’s forthright style, would be compromised by Commonwealth Bank’s 30 per cent ownership.