Barings looks for Japan managers
Baring Asset Management is on the lookout for a London-based Japanese equities team, as it centralises its developed markets equities teams in the UK capital and becomes the latest large fund manager to search for talent amid widespread job cuts in the industry.
Joji Maki, the head of Japanese equities based in Tokyo, will remain with the firm until a new team is established in London. The process should be completed by the middle of next year, according to a spokeswoman for Barings.
The company will keep its fixed-income and distribution teams in Japan.
The spokeswoman said that the restructuring is not connected to the Japan team’s performance. The Baring Japan fund has underperformed its benchmark over one, three and five years, according to figures from the group.
For the single year period it returned -42%, compared to a -36% return from the TSE First Section, which incorporates large-cap companies listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange.
Earlier this year Barings brought its US equities team to London, which is now based in the UK capital under Susan O'Brien. Barings declined to say why it had decided to bring both its US and Japanese equities teams to London.
The news that Barings is on the lookout for a Japanese equities team adds it to a growing list of asset managers hoping to pick up talent in the wake of widespread job cuts in the asset management industry.
Large asset managers including BlackRock, Fidelity Investments and Schroders have all announced job cuts after a difficult year, and warnings that revenues will plunge in 2009. But some funds houses, including Henderson Global Investors and T Rowe Price, have said they are willing to pick up talent if opportunities arise.
--write to pcraig@efinancialnews.com
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