Western Asset Management Company Announces Leadership Transition
August 21 2024 - 9:22AM
Business Wire
Michael Buchanan named Chief Investment
Officer
Ken Leech on leave of absence
Western Asset Management Company (“Western Asset” or the
“Company”), a global manager of active fixed-income solutions,
announced today that it has appointed Michael Buchanan to Chief
Investment Officer. Mr. Buchanan had served as co-Chief Investment
Officer with Ken Leech, who is on a leave of absence, effective
immediately.
In line with the Company’s succession plan, Mr. Buchanan has
been elevated to Chief Investment Officer. Along with his
responsibilities as Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Buchanan has
assumed leadership of all global investment management
responsibilities.
With nearly two decades at the Company and over three decades of
industry expertise, Mr. Buchanan has helped lead the Company’s
Global and US Strategy Committees and has had direct oversight of
the Company’s global investment teams, including global macro and
all sector teams. Prior to Western Asset, Mr. Buchanan served as
Managing Director and Head of US Credit Products at Credit Suisse
Asset Management and as Executive Vice President and Portfolio
Manager at Janus Capital Management.
“We are confident Mike’s leadership, extensive experience, and
deep commitment to Western Asset will ensure not only a seamless
transition, but also that our clients and our team are in good
hands,” said President and CEO Jim Hirschmann. “Mike has played an
integral role in Western Asset’s strategy and growth, and we look
forward to having him lead the next chapter of our storied
investment team.”
“I look forward to continuing to lead our dedicated and talented
team in delivering long-term investment growth for our valued
clients,” said Mr. Buchanan. “Western Asset will continue to
capitalize on dynamic market conditions to maintain our
industry-leading position for years to come.”
As disclosed in the 10-Q filed by Franklin Resources in July,
the Company launched an internal investigation into certain past
trade allocations involving treasury derivatives in select Western
Asset-managed accounts. The Company is also cooperating with
parallel government investigations. Mr. Leech recently received a
Wells Notice from the Staff of the U.S. Securities and Exchange
Commission, and is on a leave of absence to focus on this matter.
The Company will take action as warranted based on any findings
after the conclusion of its investigation.
In light of Mr. Leech’s leave of absence, the Company has
determined that closing its Macro Opportunities strategy
(approximately $2.0 billion in AUM as of 7/31/2024) is in clients’
best interests.
About Western Asset Management Company
For over half a century, Western Asset has delivered long-term
fundamental value investment solutions to our clients. With over
$381.1 billion in client assets under management and deep
experience across the range of fixed-income sectors, Western Asset
is recognized as one of the world’s leading fixed-income managers.
For more information, go to westernasset.com.
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