Caledonia investment boss resigns suddenly

The investment chief of the $3.5 billion fund manager Caledonia (Private) Investments resigned last week for personal reasons, according to the firm’s chief operating officer.

Robert Luciano has worked with the equity manager, which specialises in private client portfolios, for over five years. He is also a director of the company and owns 3 per cent. Caledonia COO Bernard Stanton said it was too soon to tell what would happen with Luciano’s directorship and shareholding. “It’s only just happened. [Luciano] is taking a break, so when he comes back from his break we’ll probably sit down and talk about it,” he said. “He’s certainly a good friend of the firm, still very close. But it’s part of the natural cycle of things: people decide to take a break and move on.” Luciano’s departure was not a big operational concern given the experience of the others in the six-strong group, Stanton said. “We’ve been building quite a strong team here for some period of time. In just the last couple of years we’ve made some significant hires. So while Rob will be missed – he was a great contributor here – it’s just part of life, people move on and other people step into their shoes.” Luciano reported to Caledonia’s chief executive Mark Nelson and managing director Will Vicars, who jointly run the business and direct investments on behalf of the firm’s 400 private clients. He managed three investment professionals. Stanton said Caledonia used the “;Berkshire Hathaway model”; of investing, which “a lot of people talk about but not a lot do”;. Caledonia’s long-only strategy currently has investments in Australia, North America, Europe, and Asia, mainly in listed stocks. Investors are offered two means of investing with Caledonia. They can enter through a choice of three pooled funds with a minimum investment of $1 million, or for those with more than $10 million an individually managed account is set up.