by Drazen Jorgic on Jul 22, 2010 at 07:00
Cazenove Capital has dismantled the Thornhill investment team after a consultation period on staff overlaps, with several fund managers no longer with the business.
Director and chief investment officer Gillian Lakin was one of five senior members of the Thornhill investment team to have left the wealth management firm after Cazenove concluded the acquisition of the business in early 2010.
Other key departures include board member and investment director Mike Fitzhugh, who has joined City Asset Management, and senior investment director Des Brennan.
Fund managers Elly Lawther and Nathan Sweeney have also left, with the latter joining Architas’s multi-manager team.
Cazenove confirmed the departures but declined to comment.
Lakin, who was previously head of research at Société Générale Asset Management, spearheaded Thornhill’s private client investment offering since joining the business in 2004. She was also lead manager on the firm’s retail unit trust, Thornhill Capital.
It is understood Lakin is in the process of negotiating with prospective new employers, while the running of Thornhill Capital has been taken over by Cazenove’s AAA-rated fund manager Julie Dean.
Dean is running the portfolio in line with her Cazenove UK Opportunities fund, which has significantly outperformed the market over the past three years, returning 1.39% while the FTSE All-Share TR index fell -16.23%.
Staff lock-ins
Cazenove locked in key staff when it announced it was acquiring the smaller competitor, with Thornhill shareholders now owning shares in Cazenove.
However, a consultation period about staff overlaps rendered a number of the investment team surplus to requirement. Certain members were notified they were ‘at risk’ in January and by the end of March most of them had departed.
A source who was also dismissed, said: ‘Cazenove didn’t feel that they needed the Thornhill investment team because they were very happy with the team that they had in place.’
When Cazenove bought Thornhill, which had around £650 million in private client assets, the price of the deal was not disclosed. However, Thornhill’s Scottish presence, with an office in Edinburgh, was seen as strategically important to Cazenove.
At the time of the acquisition, Cazenove chief executive officer Andrew Ross (pictured) said: ‘Given the similar culture, approach to investment and focus on client service, Thornhill and Cazenove Capital are an excellent strategic fit, both being independent businesses largely owned by their employees.’
Citywire last week revealed the company has bolstered its Edinburgh presence with the hire of Adam & Co’s highly respected wealth manager Niall Kennedy.
One of the key points for the Cazenove business looking to expand in Scotland has been that the wealth manager offers financial planning in tandem with investment management.
Alongside Kennedy, Cazenove’s Edinburgh offering is to be spearheaded by office head Peter Hillier and director Richard Onslow. Meanwhile, former Thornhill managing director Sandy Dudgeon is now head of business development for Cazenove.
From citywire published on Jul 22, 2010 at 07:00
