Fortlake builds up investment team

Fortlake Asset Management, founded three years ago by former UBS fixed-income guru Christian Baylis, has hired three new senior staff.

The boutique fund manager has added a portfolio manager, an operations executive and an advisor.

The team build-up follows Fortlake's recent tie-up with Colonial First State.

Under the terms of the deal inked March 12, CFS will get 12 per cent of future revenue and, in return, will assume back-office functions such as responsible entity, trustee, and distribution and marketing.

Cathie Drysdale has been appointed portfolio manager of fixed income and data science.

She joined the boutique funds manager from Dimensional Fund Advisors, where she was an associate portfolio manager.

Drysdale worked in trading and portfolio management at the $1 trillion global investment firm, applying quantitative problem-solving and analytic skills to design fixed-income strategies.

She was also responsible for overseeing the incorporation of sustainability principles into the investment process.

Before that, she worked as an analyst in the markets financial institutions sales team at ANZ as an associate director.

During three years with the lender, she produced market communications and facilitated trades in fixed-income and derivative products.

Drysdale has been conducting research alongside Baylis and Kylie-Anne Richards since 2023.

Before moving into domestic and global fixed-income markets, she taught economics and business studies at a secondary school for the first four years of her career.

"I have known Cathie for nearly a decade, and over that time, it was very apparent to me that she had a more curious interest in the asset class," said Baylis.

"Intellect and curiosity are a dangerous combination; we seek that out in all our staff. This in many ways is evident through her deep research background. We are thrilled to have her on board."

Also joining are Charlotte O'Halloran and Bridget Nichols.

O'Halloran arrived from Tactical Global Management, where she spent 15 years, most recently as director of compliance and operations.

Nichols has landed from Dimensional Funds but has also served as chief operating officer and general counsel at Nine Mile Financial and earlier worked as an advisor at Perpetual as co-data analytics lead at the ASX, and as a director of UBS Investment Bank.

Fortlake is Australia's top-performing fixed-income fund over one, two and three years.

In the year to June 30, 2023, Fortlake, which manages around $600 million of assets, delivered 20 per cent plus gains based, in part, on a house view that inflation rates would surge.