Fixed income fund manager and financials analyst resign from Abrdn

Matthew Henly and Jesse Norcross exit

clock • 2 min read

Fixed income fund manager Matthew Henly and financials analyst Jesse Norcross have resigned from Abrdn, Investment Week has learned.

The departures come in the same week as the firm's rebranding from Aberdeen Standard Investments to Abrdn was widely discussed both in and outside the investment industry.

Standard Life Aberdeen set for 'modern, dynamic' rebrand to Abrdn

Henly began his career in the industry at Scottish Widows Investment Partnership as a credit analyst in 2011, before the firm was purchased in 2014 by Aberdeen Asset Management, where he became an investment manager in the credit team.

He stayed with the firm in 2017 following the merger with Standard Life to become Aberdeen Standard Investments, at which time he became an investment director in the credit team, managing a range of euro and sterling corporate bond portfolios.

Last year, Henly's Euro Corporate Bond fund was shuttered after its largest investor withdrew its entire allocation, leaving the fund with too few assets to be feasible.

A letter issued by Abrdn at the time said: "We are writing to notify you of our decision to close the ASI Euro Corporate Bond fund on 22 June 2020. The largest investor has confirmed their intention to redeem their shareholding in the fund, which constitutes a substantial proportion of the assets of the fund.

"Small funds face a number of operating difficulties as they are unable to benefit from economies of scale. This may lead to problems in buying and selling assets at a reasonable price, which in turn may lead to compromised investment performance and proportionally higher costs."

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Jesse Norcross joined Aberdeen Asset Management in 2016 as an intern in the firm's emerging market debt team before returning to Aberdeen Standard Investments in 2017 as a graduate analyst. In 2018, he became an investment analyst focusing on financials.

A spokesperson from Abrdn said: "I can confirm that Matthew Henly and Jesse Norcross have left the company. We would like to thank them for their contribution and wish them success for the future."

Their future roles are not currently known.

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