A leading European asset manager needed to hire a Senior Fixed Income Client Portfolio Manager to support its multi-sector Fixed Income team. The franchise was at a strategic inflection point: new investment leadership had been appointed, the investment process repositioned and performance improved. With the first significant institutional mandate recently secured, the priority was to rebuild AUM, and the CPM hire was critical to that effort.
The Client Portfolio Manager function has evolved across the industry from an internally-facing, client servicing product expert role to a position with direct commercial accountability for helping to monetise investment performance. For a franchise in active re-growth, this distinction was key: the client needed a candidate who would drive mandate wins, not simply service the existing book.
The talent market contains both models, and candidates from servicing-focused roles can present as equivalent to those with a demonstrable business development track record. Reliable differentiation without objective assessment tools is difficult, and the consequences of the wrong appointment to a commercially-critical role would be significant.
Our client had already met two candidates known to the team, who appeared to be a good fit and so they asked Godliman to assess them on the same basis as candidates identified through our research.
The EMEA Fixed Income product specialist community comprises c.430 individuals across c.120 firms. Full market coverage was required to ensure the strongest candidates, not only the most visible, were identified and considered.
Best-Fit Market Research and Assessment
Within six weeks, our client appointed a Senior Fixed Income Client Portfolio Manager from Godliman’s research, with the whole-market process having confirmed a stronger fit against the agreed criteria than either of the two candidates the client had already met.
Godliman has helped us build out new areas of our business, providing in-depth market knowledge to assist our thinking and approach to internalising investment strategies. These have sometimes been new areas for them as well as for us but I have trusted their search process to uncover excellent candidates who fit our asset-owning culture and are capable of delivering in the role. I have worked with Rupert for over 20 years and have always felt confident that Godliman’s extensive experience, thorough process, and sound judgment will deliver what we need. Testament to this is that all their placements are excellent additions to our team and are thriving
