GAM fires suspended Haywood for 'gross misconduct'
Swiss asset manager GAM has sacked suspended bond manager Tim Haywood after its internal investigation found he was involved in "gross misconduct".
Haywood's dismissal was confirmed in the firm's annual results which showed assets under management (AUM) dropped by £21.4bn to £42.9bn for the year to 31 December 2018.
Part of the outflows were driven by GAM liquidating the £8.5bn unconstrained/absolute return bond strategy (ARBF), headed up by Haywood, after high levels of redemption requests forced the firm to freeze the assets following his suspension on 31 July 2018.
In its results, the firm said the "liquidation of ARBF is progressing well and is expected to be completed in the next few months, subject to market conditions".
The firm's decision to suspend Haywood (pictured) came after GAM found, following whistleblowing claims, that "in certain instances Haywood may have failed, in our judgement, to conduct or evidence sufficient due diligence on some of the investments that were made, or make accessible internal records of documents relating to these".
"Following the conclusion of the investigation and the disciplinary proceedings, the suspended investment director has now been dismissed from the company for gross misconduct," the results said. "There was serious failure to achieve the standard of skill and care which were to be expected of someone in his position."
Since Haywood's suspension, GAM's share price has plummeted around 70% with the Swiss firm cutting 10% of its work force and CEO Alexander Friedman departing last November with David Jacob becoming interim CEO.
Elsewhere, non-ARBF strategies suffered net outflows of £8bn, driven by negative markets and FX movements.
The firm suffered a net loss of £710m last year, reflecting good will impairment and restructuring charges.Hugh Scott-Barrett, chairman of the board of directors, said: "2018 marked the most difficult year for GAM since its independence ten years ago and 2019 will continue to be challenging.
"We deeply regret that the ARBF situation has impacted all our stakeholders, including clients, shareholders and employees."
