Pendal has announced Brenton Saunders will step into the role of portfolio manager of the Pendal Midcap Fund from April, following the retirement of Andrew Waddington.
Mr Saunders has 28 years of experience, including 25 years as a research analyst and 16 years managing portfolios, and has been with Pendal for the past nine years as a resource analyst and portfolio manager.
“Brenton is an experienced investor with a proven ability to generate performance, manage risk and construct institutional-grade portfolios,” said Pendal Group chief executive, Australia, Richard Brandweiner.
“This experience means he is incredibly well placed to leverage the insight of our 19-strong Australian equity team who cover the full market-cap spectrum. This is one of the key advantages of our approach to midcaps.”
Mr Saunders will co-manage the $512 million Pendal Midcap Fund with Mr Waddington before taking full control of the fund in April.
Commenting on Mr Waddington’s retirement, Pendal Group head of equities Crispin Murray said he had been a key part of the firm for more than 24 years.
He also acknowledged that the Pendal Midcap Fund, which was run by Mr Waddington since its inception in 2007, had achieved over 5 per cent outperformance per year.
“This was built on his ability to be disciplined, detailed and have the vision to see potential ahead of the market,” said Mr Murray.
“Andrew is a great colleague, open minded, supportive and always acts with the upmost integrity. Andrew leaves a uniquely strong legacy. We wish him all the very best for the future.
“We look forward to Brenton building on this, leveraging the resources of the whole team and delivering the next leg of success for this fund.”
