Giubin relaxed on ex-CSAM bond challenger

Last Thursday’s walkout by four Australian fixed interest executives to a boutique incubator would not lead to big FUM losses, according to Credit Suisse Asset Management (CSAM) boss Steve Giubin, because the “;godfather”; of the capability remained in place.

It is expected that Challenger’s ‘Boutique Partnerships’ incubator will be the new home of the foursome – Ben Alexander,a 17-year CSAM veteran who’d helmed fixed interest for just a year; Andrew Bartlett, a credit strategist of three years’ tenure; Tamar Hamlyn, an interest rate strategist with 12 months at CSAM; and client services specialist Stephen Clout. The general manager of Challenger Boutique Partnerships, Michael Lovett, refused to comment. Giubin said that Robert Mann, the creator of the firm’s global inflation-linked bonds strategy, would split his time between Sydney and Singapore (where he is regional head of asset management) while the search for new permanent staff proceeded. This process had already begun last Friday, with CSAM placing ads for a ‘senior fixed income manager’ in the national press. Senior team members Victor Rodriguez and Stuart Dear remain in the team (which is responsible for $14 billion), while Adam McCabe will return from Seoul to assist in currency management and interest rate strategies. Combined with a former analyst returning on a contract basis, and additional input from two members of the global fixed interest team, Giubin said “;we’ll actually have more resources in the short term”;. There “;wasn’t much we could have done to keep [Ben Alexander], after 17 years it was time for a change”;, Giubin said, adding that the poor markets for fixed interest in the year since he’d taken over from Robert Mann would not have helped. A profit-sharing scheme would eventually be rolled out to CSAM’s fixed interest team, Giubin said, but it was trickier to implement than it had been for his Australian equities team. “;The fixed interest guys speak to each other a lot more across national borders. You probably need to roll out [a profit share scheme] globally to make sure you keep that dynamic.”;