Rahmani takes up post at Magellan

Sophia Rahmani officially took over as managing director of Magellan Asset Management as of today.

As announced in February, Rahmani will step into the role of chief executive in 12 months' time.

As managing director, Rahmani oversees all aspects of operations, including direct oversight of the investment, distribution, information technology, human resources, risk, and compliance functions.

Rahmani also takes a seat at the board as of today, which comprises Robert Fraser, Andrew Formica, David Dixon, Deborah Page, John Eales, Hamish McLennan, and Cathy Kovacs.

"Sophia will be instrumental in restoring growth and rebuilding the business, and having worked with Sophia previously, I am confident that she will succeed and deliver positive outcomes for shareholders over what I hope will be a rewarding and long career for her at Magellan," Formica said in previously announcing her appointment.

Rahmani finished up at Maple-Brown Abbott as chief executive and managing director after more than four years.

Before this, she was chief operating officer for Pan Asia at Janus Henderson Investors based in Singapore and spent eight years with Macquarie Group.

Rahmani takes the reins as Magellan continues in its struggle to stem outflows, finishing April with $1 billion less in funds under management (FUM) to hit another low of $36.3 billion.

Its global equities strategy FUM decreased $600 million, while its infrastructure and Australian equities strategies both retracted by $200 million, respectively.

Magellan boasted a market capitalisation of about $11 billion in 2020, this is now down to about $1.5 billion.

Formica has flagged that the group, which includes Airlie Funds Management, plans to grow its US business.

The US represents a significant growth opportunity for Magellan and is expected to be a key driver of future growth as it launches new products and intensifies distribution efforts, he said.

The fund manager will soon launch the Magellan Unconstrained Fund to retail investors, a global equities strategy that will be managed by Alan Pullen and has been running for about two years.