Kames Capital has flown in a senior credit man from Aberdeen Asset Management as it seeks to rebuild its team which has been devastated by a sudden string of manager departures.
The fund group announced on Friday afternoon it had “bolstered” its now smaller fixed income team by appointing Laurent Frings as head of credit research.
Frings has over 22 years of experience in the industry, including similar roles for Aberdeen Asset Management and Scottish Widow Investment Partnership. Before that he worked at Morley Fund Management.
Announcing the appointment, Kames Capital said it was looking to strengthen its fixed income team “where appropriate” following the departures.
The fixed income franchise is still reeling from a quadruple manager exit in late November, including team co-head Stephen Snowden, which commentators declared a “serious blow” to the fund group.
Kames’ fixed income losses began last year when former co-heads David Roberts and Philip Milburn left the firm for Liontrust. Since then it has also lost head of rates John McNeill and investment grade credit analyst Paul Dilworth who departed earlier in 2018.
Following the most recent departures Morningstar has placed seven Kames bond funds under review, while Fundcalibre has removed the £1.5bn Investment Grade Bond fund formerly run by Snowden off its preferred funds list.
Reporting to Adrian Hull (pictured), Kames Capital’s head of fixed income, Frings will be responsible for credit research supporting the investment managers with their strategies.
Commenting on the appointment Hull said: “Laurent is extremely experienced with over 20 years of working in fixed income markets and I am very pleased he is joining us, bringing his wealth of knowledge of global credit markets. He will work closely with our investment managers to develop ideas and strategies.”
