Morgan: The innings ain't over

Peter Morgan has always likened the fund management industry to sport. "You've got to perform consistently to get ahead," he says. Little wonder then that when the star Australian money manager set out on his own two and a half years ago, he named his firm 452 Capital, in honor of the highest number of runs ever scored by a batsman in one inning of a cricket match, achieved in 1930 by Australian Sir Donald Bradman. "Bradman had a lot of integrity," Morgan says of the man considered to be the world's greatest cricketer. "He made this score consistently over a long period -- and this is a performance industry over the short, medium and long term."

Morgan, 43, also has put plenty of runs on the board. As the former head of Australian equities at Perpetual Trustees, the Sydney-based money manager earned a reputation as a shrewd investor unafraid to speak up about poor corporate governance. In 2002 he left Perpetual to establish his boutique firm with former Goldman Sachs Australia director Warwick Negus. Since then 452 Capital has accumulated nearly A$5 billion ($3.8 billion) under management.

Negus, who acted as CEO, sold his 30 percent stake in the firm in May, fetching a reported A$30 million from Australia's biggest fund manager, Commonwealth Bank. He's now the CEO of Commonwealth's fund management arm, Colonial First State Global Asset Management. Although 452 is left searching for a new CEO, investment director Morgan says he's not prepared to end his innings. He has no intention of selling his interest, despite repeated overtures from Commonwealth. "I just want to keep having fun with it and keep performing."