Suncorp has pledged to rebuild its equities division after the entire nine strong team left to form a boutique.
Queensland-based financial group Suncorp has appointed Stephen Lam as interim equities boss after the entire investment team left to form a boutique.
The nine strong team led by managing director Denis Donohue will form a boutique called Solaris, which will be distributed by Wilson HTM owned fund incubator Pinnacle Investment Management (Pinnacle).
Joining Donohue on the new venture will be Sean Martin, William Earnshaw, Andrew Gatenby, Bernard Machen, Michael Bell, John Hodder, Damien Keune and Robert Pownell.
Lam is Suncorp's general manager for investment strategy.
Suncorp executive general manager for asset management Brett Himbury said he was disappointed by the news, but was firmly of the belief the Suncorp business model was the right one.
"It will attract people," Himbury said. "We are already underway seeking long-term replacements."
He admitted it would be challenging to find people in a tight labour market but was confident of finding replacements.
"We now have a far more formidable funds management business today than we had before," Himbury said.
"I'm confidant there will be equities teams out there that will be very interested in talking to us."
Solaris will be 60 per cent owned by staff at 40 per cent owned by Pinnacle.
A seed investment of $20 million has been provided by Pinnacle, which will also provide all the administration, compliance and distribution for the fund.
Pinnacle chief executive Ian Macoun said the trend was for big institutions to get out of investment management and for boutiques to take over.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing for institutions, their strength lies in distribution," Macoun said.
"It's very hard to sustain good investment management teams in institutions. They don't create the right environment and staff can be frustrated by distractions."
Macoun added that the nine Suncorp emigrants would do nothing but invest from the day they started.
"Managers blossom at boutiques, provided they have good support," he said.
This is Pinnacle's fifth boutique. It was founded in 2006 by Macoun and Wilson HTM.
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