Incoming Magellan CEO begins work to ‘restore growth’

Magellan Financial Group has confirmed the appointment of new CEO and MD David George to its board as well as the board of its main operating subsidiary Magellan Asset Management.

In an ASX announcement released on Tuesday, Mr George said that he was excited to take up the chief executive role at the embattled fund manager.

“This is an important period for Magellan to demonstrate value to clients and shareholders, and I am confident we will deliver the strategy and strong investment performance to support this,” he stated.

“I look forward to working with the Magellan board as we restore growth to the business.”

Earlier this month, Magellan reported that its funds under management fell to $61.3 billion at the end of the June quarter, down from $70.0 billion at the end of the March quarter.

The firm attributed the fall to market movements, including recent volatility and foreign exchange, as well as outflows suffered over the period. Net outflows totalled $5.2 billion in the quarter, comprising net retail outflows of $1.7 billion and net institutional outflows of $3.5 billion.

Mr George’s appointment was last month, brought forward to 19 July after Magellan originally announced that he would join the firm in August. His career spans over 20 years in institutional management across analytical roles, investment management and organisational leadership.

He most recently worked as the deputy chief investment officer, public markets, at the Future Fund and also previously held senior roles at Mercer Investment Consulting, the Royal Bank of Canada and Integra Capital Management.

“We welcome David to the board of Magellan in his role as CEO and managing director of the company. His investment management experience brings deep expertise and a fresh perspective to the board,” said Magellan chairman, Hamish McLennan.

Magellan also recently announced that its head of sales and distribution, Frank Casarotti, will leave next year after first joining the fund manager in 2007.

Other major developments over the past year have included the resignation of CEO Brett Cairns, the loss of the firm’s largest institutional mandate, and the departure of chairman and chief investment officer, Hamish Douglass.

Jon Bragg

Jon Bragg is a journalist for Momentum Media's Investor Daily, nestegg and ifa. He enjoys writing about a wide variety of financial topics and issues and exploring the many implications they have on all aspects of life.