AllianceBernstein (AB) has announced its chief investment officer Roy Maslen is to step down from the firm at the end of the year.
Hamish FitzSimons will serve as co-CIO effective immediately alongside Maslen until his departure. FitzSimons is currently the head of research for Australian equities and a portfolio manager on its Australian Value fund.
The firm said this is a step in the process of succession planning ahead of Maslen’s departure at the end of 2024.
Maslen joined the firm in 2003 and has been managing its Australian equity portfolios since 2005.
Him and FitzSimons have worked together since 2008, and AB described the move as “formalising the role that FitzSimons has played for many years, supporting the management of all strategies on AB’s Australian equity platform”.
AB global head of equities, Nelson Yu, said: “Roy’s departure has opened up opportunities for the wider team and our succession plan ensures a strong and enduring approach to managing client assets.
“Hamish has been preparing to take over the reins from Roy for the past five years. I am confident we have the right people and structure in place, and under Hamish’s leadership, AB is well-placed to continue to offer differentiated and competitive strategies to our clients.”
Elsewhere on the team, it has promoted two analysts in light of the departures; Anja Samardzic has been appointed as portfolio manager for its Concentrated Australian Equities Fund, and Sam Gilbert has been appointed as a research analyst.
They join Eric Demoiseau as a quantitative analyst, and James Robertson, senior research analyst, on the team.
AB concluded that any further recruitment to the Australian equities team will continue to be assessed up to Roy’s departure.
“Roy is with us for the remainder of the year so we will continue to assess the structure of the team over the coming months to ensure we are well-placed to meet our clients’ needs,” FitzSimons said.
This is the latest in a series of changes to firms’ Australian investment teams in recent weeks, with the announcement that First Sentier Investors will be closing four investment teams and T. Rowe Price will be closing its Australian Equities fund.
