The UK lifeboat scheme has created a new role in connection with its move to increase internal investment management, appointing former Barclays banker Ian Scott as head of investment strategy. Scott has worked for more than 20 years on the sell side, most recently at Barclays, as head of the global equity strategy team.
RPMI Railpen has appointed Anna Rule to a newly created role as the head of property as the scheme looks to increase its in-house investment capabilities. Rule, a senior director and fund manager at Aviva Investors, will take up the position in the new year.
AustralianSuper, Australia’s largest super fund has formally established a presence in London, opening an office in King’s Cross. Trish Curry has been brought in to lead the team.
HQ Capital have hired Georg Wunderlin as chief executive at the alternatives asset manager, while Ernest Boles has taken on the role of vice-chairman of executive management. Marcel Giacometti is to become a senior adviser.
Harvest Global Investments have appointed Ashley Dale as chief business development officer and chief marketing officer. He joins from Mirae Asset Global Investments, where he was chief marketing officer and head of international business development.
Legal & General Investment Management Real Assets has appointed Louis Storrar as senior asset manager for its specialist leisure fund. As part of the fund’s growth plans, Storrar will be responsible for asset management and engineering existing space by working with the Fund’s existing occupiers.
Muzinich & Co have hired Craig Guttenplan, Tracy Zhao and Kashif Riaz to expand its global credit facility. Guttenplan will be based in Muzinich’s New York office where he will lead financial sector investment grade and high yield debt. Zhao will serve as a credit analyst on Muzinich’s Asia investment team and will be based in London. Riaz is a global high yield specialist and joined from Baring Asset Management. He will be based in London.
NewAlpha Asset Management has appointed Vladmir Maack as international relationship manager. Maack has 13 years’ experience in asset management from his time at the Societe Generale Group. He also served as head of sales development at Lyxor AM in Luxembourg and Belgium since 2011. Maack started his career in 2003 and has worked in a number of management positions in client relations teams. In his new role, Maack will be based in Paris and report into head of development at NewAlpha Clarisse Anger-Jacob.
Columbia Threadneedle Investments has appointed Joh Hampton as senior investment grade insurance portfolio manager. Based in their London office Hampton takes up the role at the global asset management group, having joined from Aviva Investors where he was head of sterling investment grade credit and led the integration of Aviva Investors and Friends Life Investments corporate bond teams.
Cardano have appointed Eric Mathijssen as client director. Previously he worked at Ortec Finance, Towers Watson and Mercer Investment Consulting. Mathijssen is also chairman of the asset-liability management committee at the Dutch Association of Investment Professionals (VBA).
Leanne Clements has resigned from her position as responsible investment manager at the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) to pursue other opportunities. Clements joined the UK lifeboat fund in April, having most recently been at West Midlands Pension Fund.
Jason Fletcher has been hired to lead the investment team of West Midlands Pension Fund (WMPF), after leaving Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) in April. He has taken over from Mark Chaloner who left the pension fund in August. Fletcher will direct a number of the fund's active and passive equities alongside alternatives and fixed interest portfolios.
Carl Hitchman has been appointed by Stamford Associates to lead its new fiduciary management advisory initiative. As head of fiduciary management advisory, Hitchman will set the direction of the initiative and undertake fund manager research and portfolio monitoring for pension schemes. He was previously a partner and head of fiduciary oversight at Hymans Robertson.
Willis Towers Watson has promoted Sara Rejal head of liquid alternatives, while Karen Dolenec has been promoted to head of real assets. Both joined Willis Towers Watson in 2014 as senior investment consultants. In her new role, Dolenec will continue to be responsible for real estate, infrastructure and natural resources, while Rejal will oversee hedge funds, alternative beta, reinsurance and multi-asset strategies.
Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) have appointed Dianne Ramsay as senior distribution manager within the institutional distribution team. She joins from Standard Life Investments, where she was an investment director in the solutions business.
Xafinity has appointed Paul Cuff as joint managing director. Cuff will work alongside existing managing director Ben Bramhall and will be responsible for the marketing and sales operations. Bramhall will continue to focus on the day to day running of the business.
Hymans Robertson has appointed Adam Porter as an associate investment research consultant. Porter will lead the research on multi-asset strategies while also providing support on real assets and equities. Porter was formerly a senior research analyst focusing on multi-asset, infrastructure and property investment managers at Buck Consultants for four years.
Bravura Solutions has hired Natanje Holt as its new business development manager. Holt will head a team in developing further relationships with workplace retirement businesses in Europe and the UK and will report into Bravura Solutions’ head of sales EMEA Kirsty Worgan. She joins with 14 years’ experience in technology and business services.
Hymans Robertson has appointed Beenesh Googoolye and Ritchie Thomson to its investment consulting team, after both left rival firm Lane, Clark & Peacock (LCP). Googoolye, who was a senior investment consultant at LCP since 2007, will focus on developing existing client relationships and new defined benefit (DB) business as a senior investment consultant.
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) has welcomed Nicola Mark, Mel Duffield and Colin Richardson to its DB and DC councils. All three have been elected as PLSA council members. Duffield will serve on the DC council while Mark and Richardson will sit on the DB council.
Local Pensions Partnership has hired Tom Richardson as its new chief risk officer. Richardson will oversee all of LPP’s financial, investment and operational risk management and will be a member of both the main Board and the LPP Investment Board. He has worked in a number of senior roles for Maple Financial Group providing banking, securities and financial services to financial institutions, corporations and individuals throughout the world.
