Scott Richards has resigned from Liberty Funds, where he was the lone portfolio manager overseeing $3.5 billion in high-yield institutional and mutual fund assets. Liberty Funds is a subsidiary of Columbia Asset Management, the asset management division of FleetBoston Financial.
Charles Salmans, a spokesman for the firm, declined to elaborate on the reason for Richards' departure, and Richards declined comment when reached at his home. One person close to Richards says he was unhappy with cost-cutting moves at the firm since it was purchased by FleetBoston over a year ago, and he left to prevent someone else from being let go. However, Salmans notes that the firm will search for a portfolio manager to replace Richards--an indication, he says, that cost-cutting is not the firm's overriding concern. Salmans adds that FleetBoston has been investing in its asset management unit as a whole, though he does not know about high-yield specifically.
The largest Liberty high-yield fund for which data is available is the $364 million class A shares of the Liberty High-Yield Securities fund. Those shares lost 1.63% in the year ending March 20, while its peers gained 1.53%, according to data from Lipper Inc. Over the last three years, Liberty's fund lost 4.56% on an annualized basis versus an average loss of 1.21%. In five years, the Liberty fund has lost 1.89% while the average high-yield fund has lost 1.16% Richards joined the firm four years ago. Earlier in his career, he served stints at State Street Research and Wellington Management Company.
While Liberty searches for a replacement for Richards, the high-yield assets will be overseen by three senior analysts who had supported him--Kevin Cronk, June Giroux, and Tom LaPointe. The firm may ultimately choose to let the trio continue to run the money on a more permanent basis if it cannot find an acceptable candidate to fill the position, Salmans says.
