Guy Strapp has resigned as chief investment officer of BT Financial Group and will be replaced by Putnam Investment's former global currency chief Dirk Morris.
 
Strapp was unavailable for comment yesterday but sources said he planned to take the summer off before resuming his career in financial services. It is as yet unknown where he will go and in what capacity.
 
The resignation will come as a surprise to many in the market given BT's recent strong performance.
 
BT's funds under administration grew by almost 40 per cent in 2005 to $34.5 billion. It also scooped a series of awards at this year Standard & Poor's fund manager of the year awards.
 
Strapp has overseen substantial changes at BT since he joined in 2002, when the firm integrated with Rothschild and Westpac Financial Services.
 
"Guy joined us at the integration of three very different businesses and has worked with the executive team to pull together a great investment management team," BT's chief executive Rob Coombe said yesterday.
 
The appointment of Morris comes just months after BT terminated Putnam's $4 billion international equities mandate in favour of AQR Capital Management.
 
Morris had been running Putnam's Boston based currency team from an office in Sydney since June 2003 and was replaced by Parker King, who is based in Boston.
 
He has worked for BT in the past - during the mid-90s - and has also had jobs with JP Morgan in London and the Reserve Bank in Australia.
 
He will start as general manager and chief investment officer at the end of month.