Close Brothers' direct investments chief Bailey quits

Chris Bailey, the manager of Close Brothers Asset Management's Growth and Conservative funds, has stepped down from the group.

Bailey was a senior figure at Close Brothers, overseeing £1.6bn of assets as part of his role as head of the UCITS direct investments team. Bailey also ran the group's Conservative, Growth and Balanced portfolios, as lead manager on the first two funds and co-manager on the Balanced fund. Close Brothers said Bailey is leaving the wealth management industry entirely, and plans to pursue an alternative career. The funds have already been handed over to Riitta Hujanen, co-manager of the £544m CDF Balanced fund. Chief investment officer Nancy Curtin (pictured) said: "The funds will ...