Threadneedle loses two top fund bosses
THREADNEEDLE has seen two top fund managers exit in recent weeks as the British firm rejigs its investment teams in the aftermath of the financial crisis.
William Frewen, head of fixed income, left Threadneedle last month and Chris White, senior fund manager in the equities team, has also quit.
The fund firm — which managed more than £60bn in assets as of end-2009 — also lost head of public relations Stephanie Ramos last month, while Richard Fuller, head of human resources, left around two months ago, a source close to the firm said.
“There does appear to be some kind of restructuring happening at Threadneedle,” the source said.
The shake-up of senior positions comes after more than 60 per cent of Threadneedle funds underperformed their peers in 2009, according to data from fund research firm Lipper.
The firm denied that it is undertaking any kind of corporate restructuring, but said it had made four recent appointments to the equities team.
Threadneedle, led by chief executive Crispin Henderson, owned by New York-listed financial group Ameriprise, climbed two places to be ranked the fourth largest manager of UK retail assets at end-2009.
“These normal comings and goings are not affecting our performance,” a spokesman said.