Manager changes: PIMCO's Gross and Beutel's Corneil

Investors should take aim before firing their guns, says analyst Vishal Mansukhani.

Vishal Mansukhani, CFA 23 October, 2014 | 9:00PM Achilleas Taxildaris
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Achilleas Taxildaris: Hi, this is Achilleas Taxildaris, manager research analyst with Morningstar. I'm here to discuss some recent prominent leadership changes with fund managers, both south of the border and closer to home. I'm here with manager research analyst, Vishal Mansukhani.

Tell us a bit about these recent changes Vishal.

Vishal Mansukhani: Of course, there have been substantial changes in the world of investment management this month. Firstly, Bruce Corneil, head of fixed income at Beutel Goodman Investment Management announced his retirement.

Also, you can’t talk about leadership changes and not mention Bill Gross's departure from PIMCO to join competitor Janus Capital.

Taxildaris: How do you compare and contrast these two leadership changes?

Mansukhani: Of course, that's a good question. The nature of the departures are very different in both cases. In the case of Beutel Goodman, Bruce Corneil announced his retirement and has given Beutel six months’ notice before departing. Also, given Beutel Goodman's ownership structure, Bruce Corneil will remain as an owner of Beutel Goodman for the next nine years. So it's in his best interest to ensure that Beutel Goodman is in safe hands when he's not there anymore.

As far as PIMCO goes, Bill Gross's sudden departure was a surprise to everyone and it does not reflect well on the corporate culture of PIMCO.

Taxildaris: What should investors make out of it? How should they react to these developments?

Mansukhani: The most important thing in this case is that investors should take aim before firing their guns. What I mean to say is that although the nature of these departures are substantial, investors must look at various factors like succession planning and the resources that were used to manage the funds in the first place, before having some kind of reaction.

In the case of Beutel Goodman, Bruce Corneil worked very closely with David Gregoris for the past 20 years and this aspect of their interaction would mean that his departure will not have as strong as an impact as someone might expect.

As far as Bill Gross's departure from PIMCO, although it is definitely very substantial, he has left behind most of PIMCO's Investment Committee in place and also the resources, technological as well as personnel resources that supported Bill Gross, still remain in place at PIMCO.

Investors should be very concerned when there is a large or substantial leadership change at an asset manager when there is high key man risk and no succession planning.

Taxildaris: Thank you very much, Vishal. Thank you for watching the video. For more information, please go to Morningstar.ca.

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About Author

Vishal Mansukhani, CFA

Vishal Mansukhani, CFA  Vishal Mansukhani, CFA, is a manager research analyst at Morningstar Canada.

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