The woes of Swiss asset manager Gam may not yet be over after reports on Friday that recently-fired bond manager Tim Haywood intends to appeal his dismissal.
As it reported a net loss and a 30% hit to assets in its investment arm, Gam confirmed on Thursday it had fired Haywood (pictured).
Haywood was not named, but the 2018 financial results stated: “Following the conclusion of the investigation and the disciplinary proceedings, the suspended investment director has now been dismissed from the company for gross misconduct.”
Made a scapegoat
But Haywood is not taking the decision lying down, and has emailed a statement to a number of media outlets, including Portfolio Adviser.
“I am being made a scapegoat in this process and intend to appeal this decision, which has been prejudged since the announcement of my suspension,” he wrote.
“I dispute many of the findings, while noting the majority of allegations have been dropped. The overall employment process has been unfair in its application, failed to resolve conflicts of interest, left uncorrected errors in my assessment and is discriminatory in nature.”
Blowing the whistle
The saga kicked off in November 2017 when an investigation was opened after an internal whistleblower raised concerns about Haywood.
The bond manager was ultimately suspended for conduct issues, relating to due diligence and record keeping.
The investigation also found Haywood may have breached Gam’s signatory policy, its gifts and entertainment policy, and used his personal email for work purposes.
Haywood’s suspension triggered a wave of redemptions from the £8.5bn ARBF range prompting Gam to freeze trading. A week later Gam decided to liquidate the range as its share price continued to decline.
The Zurich-based investment group suffered significant outflows as a result and has undertaken a restructure and is pursuing unspecified additional savings “opportunities”.
