The relative quietness of a chairman’s exit can cause suspicion. So it was that some in the market recently learned that Brett Paton had left Escala Partners without fanfare.

Paton is a well-connected doyen of Melbourne’s capital markets scene. He spent 23 years at UBS (where he became vice chairman), then some at Citi, before stints on the boards of Tabcorp and Echo Entertainment. He joined former UBS bankers at Escala Partners in the 2010s. It currently has $8.5 billion under management.