Investec Asset Management bolsters fixed income team with appointment of senior credit specialist

Investec Asset Management has strengthened its award-winning fixed income team with the appointment of Marshall Brown as credit portfolio manager. He will work alongside Simon Howie to exploit the growing opportunities arising in the credit market.

"We are very excited to welcome Marshall to our fixed income team. While credit remains an important component of bond funds, it also presents exciting new opportunities as the market evolves from a subset of traditional bonds to a unique new asset class. With Marshall's experience and expertise, particularly in unlisted high-yield debt, our team will be perfectly positioned to tap into these opportunities and grow our product offering," said Hendrik du Toit, CEO of Investec Asset Management.

Brown joins Investec Asset Management from Futuregrowth Asset Management, where he spent seven years as credit risk manager. His responsibilities included the chairmanship of the credit committee, the assessment and pricing of corporate credit investment transactions and the management of the credit risk on over R11bn of yield-enhanced assets. In addition, he was portfolio manager of the Futuregrowth Yield Enhanced funds.

Brown is no stranger to Investec, where he also spent seven years. He joined the group in 1993 to work in the Risk Management Department in Johannesburg before transferring to Cape Town to take on responsibility for high volume credit for the Cape Town and PE branches.

Brown holds a BComm (Legal) from the University of Witwatersrand and an Advanced Diploma in Banking Law from the Rand Afrikaans University.

Commenting on his new role, Brown said: "Having been involved with the listed debt market since its inception, I believe now is the opportune time to provide investors with a new credit offering. I am looking forward to joining a team that is perfectly positioned to exploit this potential in the credit debt markets."