Henderson Global Investors is cutting the chief investment officer role and creating a global head of global equities position in a restructuring of the equity investment team, spokesman Richard Acworth said.
David Jacob, the firm's chief investment officer and managing director of investment management, will become vice chairman responsible for special growth projects.
The CIO role basically involves two main purposes: forming a companywide investment view and handling the day-to-day business during certain periods when the firm is going through major acquisitions, Mr. Acworth said. Henderson is no longer looking to make large acquisitions and companywide investment views don't fit into the firm's new organizational structure of having four divisions — global equities, European equities, multiasset and absolute-return strategies.
“The CIO position was no longer needed and, in our case, it doesn't make sense to have an extra layer” of management, Mr. Acworth said.
As part of the revamp, Stephen Peak was appointed head of global equities, a new position. Mr. Peak, lead portfolio manager, will retain responsibility for the European absolute-return equity strategy. He will also focus on Henderson's U.S. mutual fund business, which includes an international opportunities mutual fund and a European-focused mutual fund. Both are managed by Mr. Peak.
