written by Jackie Cameron
Top asset manager Kimon Boyiatjis has recruited fixed interest fund manager Sidney McKinnon from Abvest Associates to his new company, Trident Capital (Pty) Ltd.
Boyiatjis, former head of fixed interest and alternative investments at Abvest Associates, recently opened his new asset management company after Absa decided to relocate its asset managers to Gauteng. Only two investment professionals agreed to make the move to be close to Absa’s headquarters.
Boyiatjis already has about R3bn in assets under management. He is focusing on managing institutional money, while the administration, compliance procedures and insurance have been outsourced to PeregrineQuant.
Most of the money is in a fixed interest fund, with a portion in a multi-class “hedge fund on tranquilisers”.
Boyiatjis confirmed to Moneyweb on Wednesday that McKinnon would be joining his team in August. He said McKinnon will manage an absolute return/inflation-linked fund. While Boyiatjis would like to keep his asset management company small and focused on managing money from professional investors, more appointments are expected.
He is working on plans for Trident Capital to manage offshore funds, but said it is too early to divulge the details.
Boyiatjis, who has won unit trust industry awards for his investment expertise, has worked in the European bond and derivatives’ markets.
McKinnon, a fund manager at Abvest, joins Trident Capital in August. “The major thing is Kimon and I have worked together for so many years. We’ve got a track record of more than seven years. Unfortunately I couldn’t make the move to Johannesburg because of various family commitments in Cape Town. It is an amicable parting,” he said of his departure from Abvest. Prior to working at Abvest, McKinnon worked as a fixed interest analyst at NIB, which subsequently became FTNIB and no longer exists.
Abvest employed a number of highly respected investment professionals, who have gone their own way rather than move to Gauteng. Former Abvest CEO Sam Houlie has joined Investec Asset Management where he works as a fund manager with value fund manager John Biccard. Rodger Walters, former Abvest chief investment officer, has joined Regarding Capital Management, which was started by high profile fund manager Piet Viljoen.