Angelo, Gordon promotes top executives amid succession planning

BOSTON (Reuters) - Investment firm Angelo, Gordon is promoting two senior executives to co-chief investment officers to work alongside the firm's co-founder, Michael Gordon, as the firm prepares for an eventual generational change.

Josh Baumgarten, the firm's deputy chief investment officer, and Adam Schwartz, who heads the firm's real estate group in the United States and Europe, will become co-chief investment officers on Jan. 1, Michael Gordon, wrote in a letter to the firm.

Pointing to the men's "substantial contributions," Gordon, who currently holds the titles of chief executive officer and chief investment officer, wrote that the promotions are "a natural progression in their leadership." Reuters saw a copy of the letter which was sent on Monday.

Gordon co-founded the $28 billion firm with John Angelo 29 years ago and said he has no plans to retire anytime soon. But he has been taking steps ever since Angelo died in 2016 to ensure that the firm will someday survive without him.

"The next generation of Angelo, Gordon leadership will build on our heritage of nearly 30 years of disciplined, research-driven investing for our clients and a steadfast focus on capital preservation," the letter said.

In September 2016, Gordon announced that the firm had created a management committee to run the business and said it would let senior employee partners buy out the founders' controlling interests over the coming years.

Baumgarten, who joined Angelo Gordon from private equity giant Blackstone Group in 2016, and Schwartz, who has been with the firm since 2000, were both named members of the new management committee in 2016.

Succession planning has become a critical issue in the investment management industry where many of the country's biggest hedge funds and private equity firms are still being run by founders who are edging closer to retirement age.

(Reporting by Svea Herbst-BaylissEditing by Chizu Nomiyama)