Suncorp/Tyndall Investment Management has appointed a new head of fixed income and expanded the fixed interest team with the recruitment of a head of portfolio management and a senior credit analyst.

Mr Roger Bridges has been appointed head of fixed income for Suncorp/Tyndall Investment Management following a decision by Mr Peter Scobie to leave the business for personal reasons. Mr Bridges led the award-winning Tyndall fixed interest team prior to the Suncorp/Tyndall merger.

In addition, Mr Darren Langer joins Suncorp/Tyndall as head of portfolio management from Perpetual where he was senior portfolio manager, and Ms Ileria Chan has returned as senior credit analyst after spending a year at BT Investment Management as credit analyst.

Commenting on the appointments, Mr Brett Himbury, managing director of Suncorp/Tyndall Investment Management, said the business is very fortunate to be able to make an internal appointment of Mr Bridges’s calibre to replace Mr Scobie.

“When we announced the merger of the Suncorp and Tyndall fixed interest teams, Roger was head of bonds for Tyndall and since then, has taken on more executive responsibility in our combined $12 billion fixed interest business and shown his leadership ability.

“The Tyndall fixed interest team achieved first quartile performance over every period from one month to ten years as at 31 January 2008*.

“Roger is an extremely talented and experienced industry professional with 21 years experience in fixed income, who shows a unique understanding of the market, and has succeeded during a variety of market conditions.

“Under his leadership, the Tyndall team won several major awards including the AFR Smart Investor Blue Ribbon – Australian Bonds Sector (Unit Trusts) 2006 and Money Magazine’s “Best of the Best 2007” Awards in the Best Australian Fixed Interest Funds category,” he said.

Mr Himbury added that the appointments of Mr Langer and Ms Chan are a continuation of the strategy embarked on last year to further strengthen the combined fixed interest business. They follow the recruitment of Mr Vladimir Kazokov and Mr Alex Nguyen in the fixed interest team late last year.

“Our approach to recruitment is to ensure we bring on board the highly-talented people as we identify a need, and we are still looking to further strengthen the team.

“The commitment to further build our team is part of our long-term strategy to develop new products to meet the needs of investors, while at the same time preserving and protecting the integrity of our present investment offerings,” Mr Himbury said.

* Intech Performance Survey - Australian Bonds (Specialist)

MARCH 2008