Manager Research

Allan Gray have notified us that Simon Raubenheimer has resigned from the business. Simon is one of the portfolio managers of the equity and balanced portfolios at Allan Gray. He joined the business at the start of 2002 after completing his degree and was appointed as a portfolio manager in mid 2008.

Allan Gray manage their po­­rtfolios on a multi-councillor basis.  For example, the current portfolio managers on the Allan Gray Equity Fund are Andrew Lapping, Duncan Artus, Simon Raubenheimer, Jacques Plaut and Ruan Stander.  They each manage a slice of the portfolio, the size of the slice based on a range of criteria including relative performance and experience.  With Simon leaving, Allan Gray have decided not to appoint another portfolio manager to the funds, rather Simon’s slice will be spread across the other four existing portfolio managers for now. 

Allan Gray clearly lose significant experience with Simon leaving, but the multi-councillor approach does allow for continuity and a smooth transition. If you consider the remaining portfolio managers, Andrew (the Chief Investment Officer) and Duncan both joined in 2001 so have 17 years of experience.  Andrew started managing portfolios in 2006 and Duncan in 2005. Jacques and Ruan both joined Allan Gray in 2008, were appointed associate portfolio managers in March 2013 and portfolio managers in November 2015.  While all four are highly rated, the experience lies with Andrew and Duncan, and it would be a concern if either of them were to leave the business for any reason in the near future.    

We have our annual review with Allan Gray in August and will again look closely at the succession plans that the business has in place.