Goldman Sachs JBWere Asset Management’s (GSJBWAM) infrastructure director Ben Hare has resigned, prompting Standard & Poor’s (S&P) to put the firm’s $142 million Australian Infrastructure Fund on hold.
The fund had a previous rating of four stars.
Hare has decided to leave the firm to pursue a personal business opportunity outside financial services, a GSJBWAM letter to clients said.
“We remain committed to continuing a strong presence in the infrastructure space and are pleased to announce that Mark Jones, who is currently in the role of quantitative analyst, will work with [head of infrastructure] Geoff Frankish to analyse utilities and infrastructure stocks,” it said.
“Mark has been with the business since December 2008 and has gained an in-depth understanding of our equities business in his quantitative analyst role.”
In his new role, Jones will work with both the quantitative and fundamental equity teams.
He will undertake stock research and financial modelling for the infrastructure and utilities sector, with Frankish ultimately remaining responsible for stock selection and portfolio construction.
“S&P considers the departure a loss to the team of two as we believed the combination of Mr Frankish’s sector knowledge and Mr Hare’s market knowledge and systems/trading experience worked well,” S&P fund analyst Simone Arblaster said.
“We acknowledge that the manager has put consideration into reallocating Mr Hare’s responsibilities and the internal transfer of Mr Jones to spend 50 per cent of his time on this fund is considered adequate.
“However, we believe at this time it is appropriate to give team members time to settle into their new roles before reviewing the fund.”
Hare has been with GSJBWAM for 10 years and has been dedicated to the Australian Infrastructure Fund since 2007.
The fund has added an annualised 4.8 per cent since its January 2006 inception, compared to the UBS Infrastructure and Utilities Accumulation Index’s 4.5 per cent yearly gain through the same period.
In a separate announcement, S&P raised the rating of GSJBWAM’s Australian Equities Wholesale Fund to four stars from three due to higher conviction.
