Revolving door still spinning at Absa unit
Four executives leaving after last year’s exodus
ABSA Wealth and Investment Management (WIM) continues to shed key staff despite efforts to keep the unit together.
Nomkhita Nqweni, the head of the unit, hosted a media roundtable earlier this week to show off her new recruits and try to demonstrate harmony within the division.
However, what was left unsaid was that another batch of key managers were busy clearing their desks prior to parting ways with the unit in favour of the competition.
The four resignations over the past few months suggest that it remains a challenge for Nqweni to retain skilled managers.
These resignations followed the defection last year by a group of portfolio managers who joined the then newly formed Old Mutual Wealth, resulting in R400-million worth of clients’ money following them out of WIM.
This week, the head of private client asset management at WIM, Craig Pheiffer, described that defection as a “galvanising event” that had spurred management to invest in itself and talented employees.
However, the investment may have been too little, too late.
In the latest round of departures, Derek Alton — a wealth manager at WIM — jumped ship and started work- ing at Old Mutual Wealth in April.
Mark Chamberlain of WIM’s family office is leaving the group for Nedbank Private Wealth, while WIM’s chief investment officer, Philip Bradford, has accepted a post at Sasfin Group.
And Absa Asset Management managing director Busisa Jiya, who joined the group in 2011, has also quit.
All these departures do not bode well for the unit that is still healing its wounds after last year’s exodus, which Nqweni summed up as a defining moment.
Most of the staff who left the unit last year, including Trevor O’Callaghan, Gary Smith, Jacques Theron and Paul Steven, were allegedly “disillusioned and unhappy” with the way management ran the business.
They were also displeased because management would not restructure their incentive payments.
It is not clear how the recent resignations will affect the unit — previously some clients showed dissatisfaction with the group by moving their business away.
However, Nqweni appears not to be too perturbed. She said WIM continued to attract top talent. The group has hired Thebe Stockbroking’s former CEO, Robert van Eyden, and the former MD of Sanlam Investment Management, Armien Tyer.
Asked if the recent departures might unsettle clients, Nqweni said WIM’s investment philosophy and “robust processes” ensured that there was little impact on clients when people left the business.