Rajiv Jain for years acted as the figurehead for Bank Vontobel's asset management. After the star fund manager departed, the performance of the unit has declined.
One of the top funds of Bank Vontobel's asset management used to be the emerging markets equity fund. Managed by Rajiv Jain, the fund attracted billions in client assets thanks to its excellent performance.
With the departure of Jain, the dynamic has gone, it seems. The emerging markets equity fund has had a performance of 5.2 percent in the year so far, according to «Citywire». The benchmark by contrast, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, increased by 14.8 percent, almost three times as much.
No to Oil Exposure
The reasons for the comparatively sluggish performance: Matthew Benkendorf and Brian Brandsma, the new managers of the fund, are doing without commodities shares. But those have outperformed so far this year, in particular the shares of oil-producing firms. Benkendorf and Brandsma are excluding any exposure to oil in their strategy.
The successors of Jain instead increased the exposure to tobacco companies, with British American Tobacco amounting to 6 percent of the fund alone.
Leaking
The volume of the fund has decreased in line with the performance. It has lost $700 million in client assets in the fourth quarter alone.
Jains departure in other words has left deeper marks than the bank had feared. The Vontobel funds boutique lost more than 11.8 billion francs in the first months after Jain leaving the bank.
