-- Not long after Pat Haskell took over Morgan Stanley’s municipal-bond department in 2013, he handed out rubber bracelets with the letters “EFD.” He wanted his team to bring their best every f---ing day.The End of the Cheap Money Era Catches Up to Chelsea FC’s OwnerToday, Haskell is trying to fire up another group, this time as BlackRock Inc.’s head of municipal bonds.
Haskell declined to comment. Spokesperson Christa Zipf said the firm has made changes to improve performance over the past five years and pointed to its history and scale in muni bonds.Haskell took the reins earlier this year from Peter Hayes, who retired after nearly four decades managing US state and local government debt. In his role, Haskell oversees active muni strategies for retail investors and institutions as well as a group that handles portfolios for insurers.
Raised outside of St. Louis, Haskell was a defensive lineman at Union College before entering Wall Street. Associates describe him as gregarious with a strong personality — someone who could command a room and is good at motivating employees, but demands accountability. He will now have to use those skills to get BlackRock’s actively managed muni mutual funds business growing again.
In the five years through June 30, Strategic Municipal Opportunities’s performance was worse than most of its peers within its class of municipal funds, according to Morningstar. It has lost about two-thirds of its assets since late-2019. Some former colleagues say they are sure Haskell will prove himself at BlackRock, given his track record.