NEW YORK -- Money management industry veteran Frank P.L. Minard resigned from Bankers Trust Co., where he was a managing director and head of investment management.
The resignation is effective Dec. 31.
Jerry Chafkin, a managing director in the institutional investment management division and its chief operating officer, will replace Mr. Minard, according to an internal memo obtained by Pensions & Investments.
Mr. Minard wouldn't say why he quit, but sources say his departure was prompted by a reorganization of BT's $320 billion global investment management business.
Under the reorganization, Mr. Minard reported to Mary Cirillo, head of global institutional services. He had been reporting to Frank Newman, BT's chairman.
The restructuring resulted in Mr. Minard losing oversight of active investment management. He retained responsibility for overseeing $220 billion invested in quantitative, indexed, cash management, fixed-income and stable value strategies.
The reorganization integrated all of the company's global institutional client service functions into a single division under Ms. Cirillo's group. Active global equity management is now handled from Sydney, Australia.
Douglas Kidd, managing director of corporate affairs at Bankers Trust, noted Mr. Minard had "contributed significantly to planning the reorganization." That comment prompted sources to question whether Mr. Minard had reorganized himself out of his own job.
Said longtime friend Michael Fisher, managing director of the institutional group at Strong Capital Management Inc., Menomonee Falls, Wis.: "I think this is probably one of those things where Frank said to himself that agewise, careerwise, emotionally, 'If I were 10 years younger .*.*.'
"I think it's probably nothing more complicated than that he just got tired of it," Mr. Fisher said.
One industry consultant, who requested anonymity, said: "Bankers Trust has taken a strategic look at its business and is following the lead of an archcompetitor, State Street Bank. Like that bank, it has combined the processing area of its custody business with indexed investment management. This move is Bankers Trust's way of showcasing that in many ways, indexed management has become a matter of superior processing abilities. It's another way of commoditizing indexed management.
" And this view (of investment management) probably doesn't fit well into Mr. Minard's thinking," the source said.
In an interview from his home, Mr. Minard said he is considering several opportunities. He would not elaborate.
Mr. Minard, 51, is one of the best-known investment management marketers, although his career moved beyond marketing. Among his past jobs: vice president and head of institutional investment advisory sales and marketing at Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States; managing director at Oppenheimer Capital, New York; and director of London-based Oppenheimer Capital Ltd.
In May 1993, Mr. Minard left Oppenheimer for PaineWebber Inc., Weehawken, N.J., to be executive vice president of its institutional investment management businesses. A few months later, he was named chairman and chief executive officer of Mitchell Hutchins Asset Management Inc., New York, a PaineWebber unit.
Mr. Minard joined Bankers Trust in early 1996, when his contract with Mitchell Hutchins expired.
In addition to helping Bankers Trust ride out a maelstrom following its well-publicized derivatives losses, observers point in particular to Mr. Minard's strong efforts to build Bankers Trust's passive management capabilities. The company has won 11 contracts totaling $25 billion to subadvise indexed portfolios for other financial institutions.
As for Mr. Minard's plans, industry mavens have no doubt he will land on his feet.
"There are 20 firms that would give their eyeteeth to have Frank Minard join them," said Strong Capital's Mr. Fisher.
Meanwhile, BT's internal memo cited other changes:
* Doug Skolnick will oversee fixed-income in addition to his cash management duties.
* Eric Kirsch, who already oversaw stable value, also will be responsible for indexed bonds.
* Tim Keaney, is heading up sales and client service within Bankers' GAM unit.
