RCM has announced its withdrawal from the Australian equities market with the closure of the Allianz RCM Australian share fund.
Unit holders have been notified that the fund would be wound up in two months and they now have the choice either to redeem or wait until the fund is liquidated. Expenses and taxable income will be calculated pro rata for unit holders.
The move comes a matter of weeks after the funds head, Jakov Males, left to join the UBS equity team as a property analyst.
RCM will retain a skeleton operation in Australia, distributing offshore products, under RCM country head Michael Negline.
Standard & Poor's (S&P) Fund Services announced it had withdrawn the funds three-star rating after the announcement, while Morningstar had previously downgraded it to avoid.
"RCM has struggled to establish its Australian equities capability in a large and extremely competitive market, with the final straw being the resignation of head of Australian equities Jakov Males after a sustained period of underperformance," S&P fund analyst Marcus Hanel said.
In February, RCM's parent group AllianzGI announced a restructure of its Australian operation, which resulted in a number of job losses.
