Magellan announces suite of exec, investment team updates

Magellan Financial Group has made a raft of key personnel changes across its senior executive and investment teams, the firm announced in a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) yesterday.

While confirming it had not yet managed to fill the role of Chief Financial Officer, the investment manager said it had made four appointments to its executive team in the meantime, including:

• Emma Pringle as Head of IR and Sustainability as of 13 January, formerly Maple-Brown Abbott’s Head of ESG and Portfolio Manager;
• Jen Driscoll as Chief Operating Officer as of 28 January, was previously Australia & New Zealand CEO of AllianceBernstein;
• UK-based Simon Barrett as Head of UK and EMEA Distribution as of 28 January, was most recently Co-Head of Global Institutional at Jupiter Asset Management; and
• Sam Mosse as Chief Risk Officer joining in April, the former Chief Risk Officer at Perpetual.

There were several changes announced within Magellan’s investment team, including the departure of Head of Investments Gerald Stack after 18 years with the firm and more than 10 years in the role. Stack has also headed Magellan’s Listed Infrastructure team since 2007.

Portfolio Manager Nikki Thomas will exclusively manage the Magellan High Conviction Strategy, following the appointment of Allan Pullen to the Magellan Global Fund team in September last year. Magellan’s statement to the ASX indicated that Arvid Streimann and Pullen will continue as co-portfolio managers to spearhead the firm’s global equities strategy.

Thomas will be joined in her curation of the High Conviction strategy by new recruit, Associate Portfolio Manager Andrew Gowen, who returns to Australia after 25 years in the UK and US.

“We are pleased to announce the recruitment of such high quality and experienced professionals and embed a refreshed structure that will enable our strategic growth agenda,” Sophia Rahmani, Managing Director at Magellan Asset Management, said.

“Our ability to attract talent of this calibre is reflective of the significant progress we have made in positioning for the future, while we continue to harness the elements that have made Magellan a globally recognised financial services provider at scale.

“I would like to thank Gerald for his outstanding contribution to Magellan over the years. Gerald has helped develop a highly regarded portfolio management and analyst team who are trusted by clients and remain focused on delivering strong investment performance.”

As a result of the personnel changes, Magellan confirmed its investment strategies will now be managed by the following portfolio teams:

• Global Equities: Arvid Streimann and Alan Pullen;
• High Conviction Global Equities: Nikki Thomas and Andrew Gowen;
• Listed Infrastructure: Ben McVicar, Ofer Karliner, David Costello and Jowell Amores;
• Australian Equities: Matt Williams and Emma Fisher.

“I would also like to thank Gerald for his contribution. He has been key to providing stability and consistency to our investment teams and clients in his role as Head of Investments during a period of change, and has built a world-class global listed infrastructure team, which he leaves in the hands of a highly experienced and established team,” Andrew Formica, Executive Chairman of Magellan, said.

“I am extremely optimistic about the path ahead for Magellan and look forward to updating shareholders on our forward strategy at our half year results in February.”