Legg Mason Asian bond specialist departs

Rajeev De Mello is leaving his role as Asian bond manager at Western Asset, Legg Mason's fixed income subsidiary, on 10 June.

De Mello is lead manager on the $626m Legg Mason Western Asset Asian Opportunities fund. Following his departure, Keith Gardner, head of developing markets for Western Asset, and Julia Ho, Asian Bond strategies portfolio manager on the Singapore-based team, will assume overall responsibility for the Asian bond range, including De Mello’s fund. The group said there will be no change to the management of the fund, which is run using a team approach.