Magellan to lose another long-serving employee

Frank Casarotti, head of sales and distribution at Magellan, has announced his retirement from the fund manager in December 2023.

Mr Casarotti has been with the embattled fund manager since 2007, prior to which he occupied the role of head of adviser distribution at Colonial First State.

“After over 40 years in the industry and 15 years at Magellan, I have made the decision to retire. This is a reflection of where I am at in life and wanting to spend more time with my family,” Mr Casarotti said in a statement.

He explained that this transition had been “orderly and planned”, and that over the next 18 months, he will support Magellan’s new chief executive, David George and the broader team.

“I am very proud to have built such a strong distribution team with outstanding people. I am confident they won’t miss a beat after my eventual departure in December 2023.”

Magellan has been through its share of people changes including the temporary exit of Hamish Douglass in February which plunged the fund manager into turmoil.

Just last month, Magellan confirmed that Mr Douglass would resume working with the business in a new consultancy role.

But the fund manager explained that Mr Douglass would cease to be a permanent member of the firm’s staff on 15 June before commencing the consultancy role on 1 October, a role that, the firm added, will enable him to deliver his expertise to investors, free from board, management and portfolio responsibilities.

At the time, the firm also advised that the appointment of Mr George as chief officer and managing director has been brought forward to 19 July from 8 August 2022.

Commenting on the appointment earlier this year, Magellan chairman Hamish McLennan said: “We acknowledge that there is more work to do. I am very confident that David, working with Magellan’s best-in-class team, will achieve strong client outcomes over the years.”

Magellan reported FUM of $65 billion at the end of May, down slightly from $68.6 billion a month earlier.