Nothing says ‘corporate falling out’ quite like the chief executive leaving immediately for personal reasons. So, any attempt by funds management giant Magellan to pitch the shock departure of its chief executive, Brett Cairns, as otherwise won’t get much traction.

With barely time to pack his pot plants and Berkshire Hathaway annual reports into cardboard boxes, Cairns has left the building leaving Magellan looking for a replacement.

It’s far from a disclosure high point for the funds manager, prompting the gossipy investment community to speculate about whether the executive chairman and chief investment officer Hamish Douglass’ personal problems have fed into what appears to be a falling out between him and Cairns.

After 14 years with the firm, a couple of paragraphs and a ‘wish you the best’ pretty much summed up Cairns’ contribution to a company that invests $115 billion on behalf of clients.

Cairns was ostensibly the silent partner of the management duo. He had the title, but Douglass had most of the power and all the stage.

Meanwhile, Cairns had the less glamorous job of managing the businesses, the products, distribution and marketing - tasks that until 2019 belonged to Douglass.

Whatever the tension brewing between them, it was not apparent on the outside. Only three weeks ago Cairns stood before investors at Magellan’s annual meeting highlighting the company’s strengths and purpose in what read like a defence of the company’s underwhelming investment performance.

“Magellan’s asset management business was founded on a key premise that we put our clients first. The business was always focused on achieving the investment objectives we have set for our investors…our client focus is as zealous today as it was when the business first started.”

In the highly centralised decision-making organisation it was Douglass who was responsible for all of Magellan’s big investment bets.