Assirt maintains Lazard rating amid team changes

Research houseAssirthas maintained its competent rating on Lazard following the resignation of half its Global Ex-Australia portfolio construction team.

Ron Saba and Ray Vars have departed Lazard to join a competitor group after 18 months with the team, which they were moved to in order to address performance issues.

“Saba and Lars were appointed to address weaknesses identified in United States performance in the Global Ex-Australia portfolios in a step that ultimately reflected positively in performance results,” Assirt says.

Lazard has filled the positions with existing staff in order to provide continuity. Andrew Lacy from the US large cap team and Gabrielle Boyle from International and European have joined the two remaining Global Ex-Australia team members, John Reinsberg and Richard Tutino.

Lacy and Boyle have previous experience working with Reinsberg and Tutino and the wider global team, and both have spent about eight years with Lazard.

Lazard was downgraded to competent by Assirt in January this year following concerns from the research house about Lazard’s performance issues as well as changes to its US large-cap portfolio management team.

Also, Assirt says “Lazard’s assessment of technology to lever earnings seemed a departure from its prior views and appeared to have led to a temporary dislocation between research and investment performance”.