GAM sacked fund star Tim Haywood, whose suspension seven months ago led the asset manager into a downward spiral, for gross misconduct. The bond veteran signaled he may fight the decision.
Swiss-based GAM said on Thursday that it has fired Tim Haywood, who until July co-managed its flagship suite of absolute return funds. GAM had suspended Haywood abruptly for infractions including using his personal email for work.
«Following the conclusion of the investigation and the disciplinary proceedings, the suspended investment director has now been dismissed from the company for gross misconduct,» GAM said in a statement on Thursday, without referring to Haywood by name.
Potential Appeal
The fund manager indicated to finews.asia that he is considering fighting his dismissal. In an email statement Haywood said: «I am being made a scapegoat in this process and intend to appeal this decision which has been prejudged since the announcement of my suspension.»
«I dispute many of findings, while noting the majority of allegations have been dropped. The overall employment process has been unfair in its application, failed to resolve conflicts of interest, left uncorrected errors in my assessment and is discriminatory in nature,» he added.
Fragile State
His suspension – sparked by a whistleblower – led to the exit of GAM CEO Alex Friedman and the asset manager in an extraordinarily fragile state as potential acquirers circle.
Top regulatory watchdog Natalie Baylis also fled three months into the job, and GAM is fighting to keep its other star fund managers on board as it cuts 20 percent of jobs in response to a slew of withdrawals.
Full-Year Loss
GAM warned of a full-year loss for this year, as well as for next, when it expects underlying assets to fall. The battered asset manager is scotching its dividend, as previously disclosed. Last year, GAM's asset base shriveled by one-third to 56.1 billion Swiss francs ($56 billion) on the year.
