Ruffle was a portfolio manager for China and Taiwan and from today (29 July) will cease all portfolio management responsibilities for Martin Currie. Along with Shifeng Ke, through their company Heartland Capital Management, he had run a joint venture with Martin Currie since 2006 although the Edinburgh-based investment house has had a presence in China since 1994.
Ke will take on Ruffle’s responsibilities and work with James Chong, investment director for China, and John Pickard, head of investment, to transition the management of affected portfolios. Martin Currie is also recruiting a new portfolio manager for A-Shares, a new portfolio manager for Greater China small-cap and a new head of research in the region.
According to Bloomberg Ruffle says he is setting up trading, legal and compliance systems for Heartland and will be able to run as a “fully functioning, fully SEC-licensed fund management company”. From November, his firm will exercise its option to acquire Martin Currie’s interest in the joint venture, with Ke and Martin Currie’s team of 12 Shanghai-based analysts joining Ruffle. Martin Currie will keep all bar $150m of its Greater China assets.
The reason for Ruffle’s fall from grace is an investment in unlisted Ugent Holdings in 2009 as it was discovered in November 2010 that he was also investing in Ugent’s parent company. This led to a $20m compensation agreement with investors and the subsequent split with Ruffle.
Willie Watt, chief executive of Martin Currie, said: “The Board of Martin Currie Holdings commissioned reviews into the circumstances surrounding a transaction in an unlisted security that involved a conflict of interest and into aspects of our relevant operations. These reviews have led us to reinforce certain aspects of Martin Currie’s governance structure.
“Our commitment to the region is as strong as ever and, building on our existing strengths, I look forward to enhancing and developing our capabilities still further to enable us to meet our clients’ long-term goals.”
