Another top fund manager to join Westpac exodus

Mr Brown looked set to head the wealth management arm of Westpac after moving across with Sagitta Rothschild when the bank bought the fund management group for $323 million last year.

When Westpac went on to buy BT for $935 million four months later, market speculation focused on who would run the combined Australian equities division. The speculation abated after BT's head of equities, Marcus Fanning, pulled out of the running. Mr Fanning has since joined JP Morgan as head of the equity capital markets team.

As the complex integration of the three businesses continues, little has been revealed about the equity strategy other than confirmation it would continue in BT's ``GARP" style ``growth at a reasonable price".

But concern has been mounting about just how Mr Brown would turn around what has proved to be a particularly disappointing performance for both BT and Sagitta.

In the latest surveys from consultants Morningstar and Intech, BT was the worst performer of 2002, with a loss of 11.3 per cent and Sagitta was the second worst with a loss of 11 per cent.

Westpac managed a more respectable 12th out of 31 funds surveyed, posting a loss of 6.9 per cent. The average fund manager recorded a negative return of 7.3 per cent.

Westpac's group executive of wealth management, David Clarke, is understood to be under pressure to make the integrated group work. A possible replacement for Mr Brown is Crispin Murray, the former head of European equities at BT before he was retrenched following the Westpac acquisition. Westpac rehired Mr Murray last month.