Embattled market neutral manager Vertex Capital Management will be party to a “joint announcement” about its future in a few weeks time, according to managing director Kim Ivey.

Vertex’s Premium Equity and Relative Value Funds have struggled recently, in an environment of strong long-only Australian equity returns and what Ivey calls “investor preference for more volatile, directional strategies than market neutral”. Ivey prefers not to discuss assets under management, but it is understood that Vertex now oversees less than $100 million, after surpassing $200 million when performance was at its heights in 2002. Ivey confirmed that Charles Macek left the Vertex board earlier this year, so as to “avoid conflict with another financial services firm whose board he was considering joining”. He explained the recent departure to Deutsche of chief operating officer, Rebecca Jacques, as the product of a pending restructure of the company. “We weren’t quite sure what Rebecca’s role would be going forward, so it was mutually agreed she should look for something with more job security,” Ivey said.