Perpetual promotes two to strengthen fixed income team

Perpetual has named a new head of credit and fixed income, and a deputy portfolio manager of its flagship trust.

Vivek Prabhu has taken over the reins as head of credit and fixed income, extending his 20-year tenure at the organisation.

The announcement follows the retirement of Michael Korber, the portfolio manager of the Perpetual Credit Income Trust (ASX: PCI), departing the company after two decades. He will continue his portfolio manager role for up to 12 months.

Before joining Perpetual, Prabhu was a credit analyst and assistant portfolio manager at Macquarie, where he was posted for almost eight years. He began his career as an accountant at PwC in 1993.

Perpetual Asset Management Australia chief executive Amanda Gillespie welcomed the appointment.

"Vivek is a highly respected portfolio manager and his natural leadership skills, commitment to fostering strong and collaborative teams, coupled with his dedication to providing quality investment outcomes, ensures we will continue to deliver for our clients," Gillespie said.

Prabhu will continue in his role as portfolio manager for the Perpetual Diversified Income Fund, Perpetual Credit Income Fund and Perpetual ESG Credit Income Fund.

Simultaneously, Perpetual Trust Services, the responsible entity (RE) for PCI, has named Greg Stock as deputy portfolio manager. He will also serve in the role for the Perpetual Pure Credit Alpha Fund.

Stock is currently head of credit research and senior portfolio manager. He brings more than three decades of industry experience and has been part of Perpetual's credit and fixed income team for over 20 years: he is currently the head of credit research and a senior portfolio manager.

Gillespie said: "Greg built a strong reputation as an investor and our longstanding approach to succession planning and promoting from within ensures investors will continue to benefit from a high-quality team, process and investment philosophy that is focused solely on providing strong investment outcomes."

He also worked closely with Korber throughout his tenure, to which Gillespie said: "Michael's contribution, not only as a leader in our business but as one Australia's most respected credit and fixed income investors, has been enormous."

Perpetual's credit & fixed income team comprises of eight investment professionals managing more than $8 billion in funds under management.