Key points

• Paul Hannan and Noel Webster will step down as Senior Portfolio Managers of Pendal’s Smaller Companies team from today.
• Over 17 years Paul and Noel have together built a well-respected and highly successful franchise. The Smaller Companies Fund has delivered 11.55% pa after fees since they took over management on April 1, 2004. The Microcap Opportunities Fund has returned 23.87% pa since its launch in March 2006. Both have significantly outperformed their benchmark, the S&P/ASX Small Ordinaries index (source: Pendal at Apr 30, 2021).
• Pendal’s emphasis on team development and a disciplined process has laid a strong foundation for the next stage in the franchise’s evolution.
• After more than three years as Portfolio Managers, Lewis Edgley and Patrick Teodorowski take over full management of the Pendal Smaller Companies and Pendal Microcap Opportunities portfolios from today.
• Paul Hannan will continue as an analyst until the stock coverage transition is completed. This is expected in 2022.
• Noel Webster will step down from the team as soon as the handover of his stock coverage is completed within the next two months.
• Edgley and Teodorowski also become Co-Heads of Smaller Companies in Pendal’s Australian equities boutique, reporting to Head of Australian Equities, Crispin Murray.

TODAY Pendal announces the next stage in a Smaller Companies portfolio management transition which began in 2017.

From June 21, Lewis Edgley and Patrick Teodorowski take over full management of Pendal’s Smaller Companies team.

Edgley and Teodorowski have been Portfolio Managers for the fund since early 2018. Over the past three years they have taken increasingly greater responsibility for the portfolio’s trading, position weightings and construction. They now take full responsibility of the team and portfolios.

Pendal’s Australian equities team has a culture of accountability, granting team members the opportunity to prove themselves.

Paul Hannan and Noel Webster successfully executed this approach, focusing on development within the Small Cap strategy. Edgley and Teodorowski have been with Pendal for eight and 11 years respectively. Their progression reflects our focus on development.

This transition is the next stage of the smaller companies evolution and demonstrates Hannan and Webster’s focus on succession planning and their confidence in leaving management of the funds in the hands of Edgley and Teodorowski.

The Smaller Companies team is a vital part of Pendal’s broader Australian equity boutique – in terms of the portfolios they run and the company research that feeds directly into the midcap and broadcap funds.

Edgley and Teodorowski will work closely with Crispin Murray and other portfolio managers in the boutique, building on a long track record of success and excellence in our small cap capability.

The team will continue to be assisted by analysts Rachel Cole and Damien Diamant. Another analyst is expected to be appointed shortly.