The Macquarie Professional Series head of institutional distribution has left after three years, finding greener pastures at a local third-party marketing partnership.
Angus Carson will officially join Ambassador Funds Management Services on Wednesday. The third-party marketer for four offshore funds managers plans to make Carson an equity partner in the business, as founder and former Fidelity Investments CEO, Richard Darke, gradually winds back his involvement.
Carson, who has been on ‘gardening leave’ for a few weeks, is not the first executive to depart Macquarie’s Banking & Financial Services Group after the last round of bonus payments disappointed many.
Carson will be based in Ambassador’s Sydney office with Peter Tiffin and Darke, who currently works about three days a week and divides his time between Sydney and a property in Jamberoo. Andrew Vrech and David Twiss will continue to man the Melbourne office.
Vrech said Ambassador would transition from a partnership structure to a private company by the end of the year, and Darke would be the inaugral chair.
Ambassador represents four funds managers in Australia, and has raised $1.5 billion for value-biased global equity manager Altrinsic Global Advisors, including over $500 million in the past year according to Vrech.
Meanwhile, Macquarie Professional Series is searching to replace Carson, with the role reporting to head of institutional relationship management, Richard Nelson (who works alongside ‘Series head Megan Aubrey).
Macquarie Professional Series offer Australian retail and institutional investors exclusive access to offshore funds managers including Walter Scott, whose Global Equity Fund outperformed the MSCI World by 14.5 per cent in the year to May 31.