A whistleblower who raised alarm at GAM is out at the struggling Swiss asset manager. The co-manager of GAM’s unconstrained bond fund blew the whistle on his long-time partner Tim Haywood 15 months ago, as finews.com reported exclusively in September. 

«I can confirm that I was one of a number of senior portfolio managers made redundant in recent months», the 13-year GAM veteran told finews.com. His exit comes shortly after GAM sacked Haywood for gross misconduct, a decision he is fighting. 

There are no winners from the whistleblowing: it cost CEO Alex Friedman his job, while top regulatory watchdog Natalie Baylis fled just three months after joining GAM. The scandal has sliced off two-thirds of GAM's market capitalization – now just $628 million – since it surfaced publicly.

Bonus Ire

Meanwhile, emergency CEO David Jacob is launching a «hail Mary» bid to save GAM after a hefty full-year loss. One of his biggest measures is massive job cuts – including that of Haywood (pictured below), and his co-manager.

The whistleblower is leaving with several years pay and the promise of a bonus, a source familiar with the matter told finews.com. The move has irked the skeleton team remaining to wind down the absolute return assets, because the payout was drawn from the wider bonus pool, this person said. The whistleblower, a fixed income veteran, didn't comment.

Frantic Response

Haywood told finews.com that most of the allegations leveled against him by the whistleblower were dropped, and that he disputes the remaining ones. «I am exploring all legal options and look forward to the opportunity to clear my name and return to work», he said. GAM didn't comment on the contents of the investigation.