Credit Suisse Asset Management has folded the $2.5 billion in fixed-income assets from its Brundage, Story and Rose subsidiary into its own fixed-income group. The move is designed to cut costs and use its resources more effectively, according to senior fixed-income officials with knowledge of the situation.
Dean Benner, a CSAM managing director who headed up the Brundage team, will leave at the end of the year, according to the senior officials. Benner did not return calls and his future plans and reason for leaving could not be determined. Another portfolio manager who oversaw the firm's mortgage-backed securities portfolio has also left, though his name could not be determined.
The remainder of the Brundage team, which includes David Fisher, a portfolio manager, Robert Lee, a senior analyst, and four junior analysts, will now report to Jo Ann Corkran, head of fixed-income at CSAM. She did not return calls.
Brundage was acquired by DLJ Asset Management in 2000, and became part of CSAM during a merger with Credit Suisse First Boston later that same year. Brundage had retained its independence from CSAM's other asset management units, however. Brundage's client assets, which are typically more conservatively managed than those of CSAM, will continue to be managed according to the same guidelines, says one senior fixed-income official with knowledge of the situation.
CSAM recently saw some senior departures in its fixed-income group, including Gregg Diliberto, former head of fixed-income, and Tony Rodriguez, its former corporate bond chief (BW, 7/14). It has also lost a number of institutional mandates, according to an earlier report in Bloomberg News. Combining the Brundage fixed-income team with that of CSAM helps to fill some holes created by earlier departures, according to one fixed-income official with knowledge of the situation.