By Craig Phillips
AberdeenAsset Management has lost two long-serving members of its Australian equities team, resulting in a brace of funds being promptly placed ‘on hold’ by the research division of the Navigator master trust.
Head of the firm’s Australian equities desk, Steven Robinson, left the group last week after seven years to join Sydney-based boutique outfit Alleron Investment Management, while Munib Madni also departed after accepting a role in Singapore with Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
Robinson joins Alleron as a senior manager investments and will report to former Tower senior equities staffer Albert Hung, who heads up the specialist growth manager’s four member equities team.
Meanwhile, the departures of both Robinson and Madni at Aberdeen has resulted in Navigator placing both the Aberdeen Financials Fund and the Aberdeen Australian Equity Fund ‘on hold’ until further notice.
“We believe this to be a substantial loss as it significantly affects Aberdeen’s ability to manage its Australian equity portfolios,” Navigator said in a statement.
However, Aberdeen Asset Management director Charlie Macrae was confident there would be no disruption to the more than $700 million in equities managed by the group locally, as it would be looking to its regional head office in Singapore to shore up the gap.
“I’m liaising with the team in Singapore to get some cover and support for the two guys who have left. Effectively what we’re going to do is second three of our experienced fund managers from Singapore. It’s always disappointing when you lose staff, but one thing we do have is strength in depth,” Macrae said.
The new recruits would join remaining portfolio analysts Maria Papthansiou and Michelle Casas.
