Glebe hit with downgrade after departures

Glebe Asset Managementgeneral manager equities, James McSkimming, has resigned from his position after 17 years with the group, resulting in a ratings downgrade fromInvestorWeb Research.

McSkimming’s resignation will coincide with the departure of long-standing Glebe general manager Paul Harding-Davis who, along with five retail focused business development managers, was made redundant following the group’s recent restructure.

As reported byMoney Managementin April, Glebe has decided to move out of the retail financial services space to concentrate on mandates from Anglican church groups in Australia.

While Glebe has stated it will continue to service existing retail clients with the introduction of zero entry fees, Harding-Davis says only one staff member who services the retail side will remain, and even he will be primarily focused on the church and will no longer actively seek out retail clients.

While McSkimming played an integral part in both the large and small cap Australian shares funds, InvestorWeb Research says his departure is in particular “a significant loss in regards to Glebe’s large cap Australian shares capabilities”.

As such the research house has downgraded its rating on the Glebe Australian shares (large cap) fund from ‘buy’ to ‘sell’, while the rating for the group’s small companies funds remains as ‘investment grade’.

InvestorWeb says while it doesn’t expect a significant increase in risk to investors over the short-term, the “current uncertainty surrounding the fund” (referring to the group’s recent shift away from retail to focus on mandates from Anglican church groups) has led to the sell recommendation.

McSkimming today said that the downgrade was “an understandable reaction given Glebe have made a number of changes in last month or two”, but also added that considering “the hands on investment team is still in place it’s a little harsh, but understandable”.

Glebe is now in the process of finding a replacement for McSkimming, and InvestorWeb says the group’s investment capabilities will be reassessed as part of an Australian shares review in the second half of this year.

Back in February the ethical fund manager received its first round of rating from research houseAssirt, being rated ‘competent’ for its Australian shares, business management and operating capabilities.

After leaving Glebe in a month’s time, McSkimming’s will take up a role with an asset consultant which he says presented him with opportunities that were too good to refuse.