BT loses property head

By Ross Kelly

THE departure of the head of BT’s listed property team, Antoinette Platter, has resulted in one research house placing the manager’s property funds on hold, while another has reaffirmed its poor rating of the group.

BT said last week that Platter would be standing down from her post to “take time out with her family”.

She will stay, however, for a few more weeks to help current portfolio manager and transitional head Peter Davidson take responsibility for the listed property team until a replacement head is found.

In response to the news, Morningstar altered its rating of the group’s property funds from investment grade to hold, recommending advisers hold off from placing new monies with the funds.

Standard & Poor’s, meanwhile, said it would “continue to monitor the situation”, and would advise investors if there were any future change in the fund’s current two star, or poor rating.

Like Davidson, Platter was appointed only as an interim portfolio manager back in February 2003, when BT veteran Carlos Cocaro left the position, which he had held for eight years. However, Platter ended up staying in the role until her resignation.

The departure of Cocaro back in 2003 played a large part in the group’s property trust capabilities losing favour with research houses.

, which was part of a spate of defections from BT around the time of its acquisition by Westpac Bank,