Perpetual ‘takes credit’ from Macquarie

By Liam Egan

Perpetual Investments has secured the services of three Macquarie Funds Management credit specialists to bolster its asset management team.

Head of credit Michael Korber, and two colleagues Vivek Prabhu and Greg Stock, who collectively managed Macquarie’s credit-based investment portfolio, left the group late last month to join Perpetual.

Perpetual chief investment officer Emilio Gonzalez describes the appointments as a “demonstration of Perpetual’s ability to identify, attract and integrate new asset management capabilities”.

“[The appointments] will enable us to offer additional income products for our retail, masterfund and institutional clients,” he says.

Gonzalez says the new team will be entrusted with mirroring the group’s property securities and infrastructure businesses, which have both developed into strong performers by launching additional products into the retail, masterfund and institutional space.

Meanwhile, Macquarie has appointed fixed interest research director, Dean Stewart, to replace Korber as head of credit.

Macquarie’s fixed interest and currency division head, Wayne Fitzgibbon, says Stewart has been integral to the development of the firm’s investment capability for managing credit securities.

“He has authored virtually all of Macquarie’s extensive research into corporate-debt and asset-backed securities, dating back as far as 1997,” Fitzgibbon says.

Fitzgibbon adds that Stewart is an experienced portfolio manager, having managed Macquarie’s enhanced Australian fixed interest portfolios for many years.

Macquarie associate director Brett Lewthwaite will join Stewart in managing the credit portfolios.

He has been product manager for credit enhanced cash and Australian fixed interest for over two years.