Macquarie put on hold

The $55 million Macquarie Small Companies Fund has been placed on hold by ratings-houseLonsecand may face downgrading later this week, following the resignation of small cap portfolio manager Darryl Paul on Thursday.

“Darryl Paul was the most experienced, so the team is down from three to two… the Macquarie team has only really been together for a year, given Paul’s departure, and one of the issues which prevents a manager from receiving a high rating is the lack of time a team has been together,” says Lonsec investment analyst, Anthony Pesutto.

Macquarie will meet with Melbourne-based Lonsec on Friday.

Pesutto says while one of Macquarie’s strengths is its process and the liquidity of stocks held in the portfolio, the team loses a great deal of experience with Paul’s departure.

After nine years with the group and five with the small cap team since the fund’s inception, Paul announced two weeks ago his intention to have a break from the industry and departed on Thursday.

Reporting to head of active equities Peter Mouatt, existing small cap team member, Issam Eid will assume responsibility of the fund.

Other members of the team include small cap analyst Steven Ng and Australian equities fund manager Steve Giubin who divides his time between the small cap team and managing the broader universe of stocks.

In February, Lonsec finished its annual review of Australian small caps, rating the Macquarie Small Companies Fund ‘Recommended’ after its first review of the fund.