Anthony Clemente has left his role as head of the bank loan and global CDO group at INVESCO Senior Secured Management. The move was triggered when a rival firm tried to bid away some of the key men in INVESCO's CDO funds. As a condition to staying at INVESCO, some portfolio managers requested that Clemente not continue in his role, a source familiar with the situation said. Clemente declined comment from his home.
An INVESCO spokesman confirmed that Clemente has left his position as head of the bank loan and CDO group, but said he is taking another slot at INVESCO and insisted he is still an employee of the firm. Clemente is a global partner, he stated, and is working with George Baumann, global head of fixed income, on business initiatives.
Portfolio manager Gregory Stoeckle has taken over Clemente's responsibilities as head of the bank loan group, the spokesman added. Stoeckle was traveling and could not be reached. The spokesman declined comment on why Clemente was changing roles. The exact employees could not be determined, but other portfolio managers include Tom Ewald and Scott Baskind. Baskind declined comment and Ewald did not return calls.
A representative of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association said Clemente has resigned his position on the board. "As our bylaws stipulate, if you leave the corporation you are representing on the board of directors, you automatically lose the position on the board because the position is retained by the corporation, not the person," the representative said.
The firm has in excess of $6 billion in loan portfolios under management. Before joining Chancellor LGT, INVESCO's predecessor, in 1998, Clemente worked at Merrill Lynch Asset Management for over eight years. He was a co-founder of Merrill Lynch's Prime Funds, which was one of the first mutual funds to invest in loans.
