Jim Leaviss, the fund manager and chief investment officer of M&G’s giant fixed income team, is exiting the company and the industry.
Leaviss, described by Darius McDermott of Fund Calibre as “a big part of the success of M&G’s bonds team”, is leaving to pursue an academic course in the study of the history of art.
M&G has poached Andrew Chorlton, head of fixed income at Schroders, to replace him.
Chorlton will join M&G later this year and while his job title will be the same as Leaviss's, his role will differ as he won’t be managing any funds at M&G. Instead he will focus on managing the team - similar to his role at Schroders,
Leaviss ran the M&G Global Macro Bond fund, which is £1bn in size. It has struggled somewhat in performance terms in recent years, being bottom quartile over one and five years, and year to date.
Eva Sun Wai, the fund's co-manager for the past three years, will become lead manager and will be supported by Rob Burrows, who has been employed by M&G since 2007 and is a specialist in government bond markets.
McDermott said the continued presence of Sun Wai on the team and the depth of the wider M&G bond team meant he continued to rate the fund.
Leaviss, who was also known for running the Bond Vigilantes blog, said: "It’s been a tremendous privilege to work at M&G for almost three decades and lead the team through the growth of bond markets during that time. I’m really proud of our team of fixed income professionals, the talent we’ve developed and what we’ve achieved for clients.
"Our investment range has grown dramatically, of note the launch of the M&G Optimal Income fund which became one of the largest funds in Europe and our leading European credit capabilities that have an excellent reputation with international clients. I’d like to thank everyone for their support over the years and I am in no doubt that this culture will continue – I wish the team all the best.”
Joseph Pinto, chief executive of M&G, said: “I would like to take the opportunity to pay tribute to Jim whose influence in the world of bonds has been significant – he should be extremely proud of his career at M&G and of the dynamic and talented team he has nurtured.
"Jim has delivered excellent returns for our clients and his unique way of communicating has always been very engaging with clients, by sharing the team’s insights straight from the desk. When Jim leaves later this year, he will go with our thanks for his contribution and our very best wishes as he pursues academic interests.”
david.thorpe@ft.com
