The departure of Gam head of investment solutions Larry Hatheway is being described as a “cause for concern” for investors as he becomes the latest in a long line of exits from the Swiss fund group.
Hatheway (pictured) joined the firm from UBS in 2015 and is set to leave at the end of the year. In H1 2019, the asset manager reported losses of £11m as the fallout from the liquidation of its absolute return bond fund range, plus the sacking of fund manager Tim Haywood, continues to take its toll on its reputation.
A statement from Gam said Hatheway would be pursuing other interests. It said: “Gam remains committed to our Solutions business… We would like to thank Larry for his significant dedication and contributions to the firm since he joined in 2015.”
‘It certainly leaves a hole in terms of experience’
AJ Bell head of active portfolios Ryan Hughes said given the number of high profile departures Hatheway’s exit “will be a cause for concern for investors”.
“With senior investors leaving, it certainly leaves a hole in terms of experience and makes it difficult to have confidence in the overall strategy and direction of the firm until staff turnover has settled down.”
On Tuesday, it was also revealed that Gam’s head of currencies and commodities Joachim Corbach, along with portfolio managers in his team, Christian Gerlach and Fabien Weber, were leaving the firm after Zürcher Kantonalbank’s acquisition of Gam’s precious metals ETFs and money market business.
The fund manager exits come amid senior leadership changes with Blackrock man Peter Sanderson to take the reins and replace David Jacob as chief executive on 2 September.
Hatheway’s successors
Hatheway’s responsibilities will be divided up among several Gam team members, with Kier Boley, who sits within the investment solutions team, to take on the alternatives and private client aspects of his remit.
Andrea Quapp will oversee the Zurich multi-asset team while Julian Howard will oversee the London-based multi-asset team.
Hughes said: “With so much product choice in the market, corporate instability is a very straight forward flag to help filter the vast universe of investment solutions and Gam needs a period of calm to help it recover from the negative sentiment of the past couple of years.”
However Willis Owen’s head of personal investing Adrian Lowcock said he doesn’t think “this is too significant to the overall business”. “Companies see staff leave and join all the time and any business of any size will always have some turnover of senior staff.
“Of course, it comes after a tumultuous period for Gam so adds to the weight of concerns about its future independence.”
