Strategic dumps Sagitta from listed property lineup

Mastertrust providerStrategic Investments Australiahas droppedSagitta Rothschildfrom its listed property trust line-up, following the recent departures of a number of key personnel from its LPT team.

BT/Sagitta listed property director Carlos Cocaro left at the end of February, followed by property analyst Damien Barrack, prompting Strategic to review the mandate.

Strategic chief executive Chris Lumby says: “Carlos was the key person driving the team, so his departure signalled concerns to us.”

The $16 million active mandate has now been split between two new funds, theCredit SuisseProperty Fund and theSG HiscockProfessional Investor Listed Property Securities Fund.

Strategic chose Credit Suisse Asset Management and SG Hiscock because of their strong processes and complementary styles.

“We see the international property experience of the Credit Suisse team and its larger cap focus, combined with Hiscock’s slight bias towards small listed property trusts, as a strong complement to our existing core index manager, Colonial First State,” Lumby says.

The research houses also responded negatively to the BT/Sagitta departures, with van Eyk placing a ‘hold’ rating on the listed property funds and Morningstar downgrading BT’s sector strength rating for listed property from ‘neutral’ to ‘negative’.

However, InvestorWeb retained its ‘investment grade’ rating for BT/Sagitta’s capabilities in this area, after the surviving member of the team, Antoinette Plater, was appointed to head the team, and joined by Anthony Knep, an analyst from Burdett Buckeridge Young.