Tokio Marine Asset Management London has appointed Paul Butler as Compliance Manager. In this newly-created role, Butler will assist the Compliance Officer in providing effective compliance advice and monitoring, working closely with the business units to identify compliance risks and develop appropriate solutions to mitigate it. Butler has over 11 years of experience in working in the financial markets with a particular knowledge of alternative investments and hedge funds. Prior to joining TMAL, Butler was at Goldman Sachs Asset Management for almost 10 years progressing to senior executive director in the compliance team for the Alternatives Group. Prior to this, he worked as a systems support analyst at firms including ABN Amro and ING-Barings.
Hermes BPK Partners has appointed Mark Smith-Lyons as Chief Operating Officer. Smith-Lyons brings eight years of senior management experience within the investment management industry. He was formerly Head of Change Management, Fund Services at Crosby Forstyth and previously Head of Operational Relationship Management at Invesco Perpetual. Matteo Dante Perruccio, CEO and Founding Partner at Hermes BPK said: “We are delighted Mark is on-board to manage all operational, financial and business processes and procedures for Hermes BPK. We recognise that good governance and robust operational infrastructure and procedures are a necessary prerequisite to attract and keep institutional investors”.
Silk Invest has hired John Bates to spearhead its move into Frontier Fixed Income. Bates, formerly Head of Credit Research Africa at Renaissance Capital has extensive experience in fixed income markets. Prior to Renaissance he was a senior Emerging Market Credit Analyst at ABN Amro in London and West LB. Bates has a BA Hons from University College London. Daniel Broby, Chief Investment Officer says he is “delighted John is coming on board, having seen the quality of his work whilst we were together at Renaissance. He is truly one of the few people who not only know the universe inside out but he is also of the few able to capitalise on that knowledge to obtain equity like returns in the frontier fixed income space.”
Insparo Asset Management has appointed Jon Laidlow as its new Chief Operating Officer. Laidlow will take over an expanded COO role, which has been widened to include responsibility for all the firm’s financial operations. Laidlow will work alongside the firm’s founders Mohammed Hanif and Francis Beddington. Insparo’s inaugural fund, the Insparo Africa and Middle East Fund, is backed by high-profile investors such as Michael Spencer and South African entrepreneur Mark Shuttleworth. Laidlow joins Insparo from quantitative hedge fund manager GSA Capital Partners, where he was Finance Director. In this role he had responsibility for fund accounting, compliance and legal operations. Prior to joining GSA, Laidlow was Head of Product Control at BlueCrest Capital Management. Mohammed Hanif, Chief Investment Officer at Insparo, commented: “We are delighted that Jon is joining Insparo, as he fits perfectly into the ethos we have established here. He brings a potent blend of hedge fund, investment banking and accountancy experience. It says much for the positive outlook for our firm that while many are cutting jobs, we are bringing in professionals of Jon’s calibre.”
LaSalle Investment Management has announced Chris Martin has been appointed as Regional Director and Head of Asset Management for Asia Pacific, based in Singapore. Reporting to the Managing Director for Asia Pacific, Philip Ling, Martin will be responsible for overseeing the Asia Pacific business’s asset management group – a team of 40 people in LaSalle’s Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea offices. This group provides asset management services for the property investment funds managed by the firm which, in total, comprise some 80 properties across a range of sectors in the region.
Rose & Sky Group has appointed Dr Miroslav Mitev as Head of Risk Management of Rose & Sky Investments AG and Investment Committee Member of Rose & Sky Investments (Cayman) Ltd. Mitev has more than a decade of extensive leadership experience in development and management of innovative investment strategies for leading financial institutions. In his role as Head of Risk Management at the fund advisor Rose & Sky Investments AG, Mitev will be responsible for overseeing the entire risk management process and for the implementation of state-of-the-art risk management systems to meet the newest regulatory requirements. In his role as Member of the Investment Committee at the fund manager Rose & Sky Investments (Cayman) Ltd., Mitev will be responsible for the quantitative part of the investment management process.
D. Brooke Harlow has been named Executive Vice President and Managing Director of Marketing and Communications at the Managed Funds Association. Harlow is responsible for the strategy and implementation of the Association’s global business development and marketing initiatives, as well as communications and media outreach to policy makers, members and the global alternative investment industry. Harlow was previously managing director of communications and public affairs at Highbridge Capital Management, a New York-based hedge fund. Richard H. Baker, MFA President and CEO, said, “We are delighted that Brooke has joined MFA in this vital role during such an important time for industry participants to work together on key issues and to speak with a unified voice. Brooke’s in-depth knowledge of the alternative investment industry, proven communication skills and sound judgment are a strong addition to MFA as we continue to expand our membership and focus on critical issues that impact our members’ ability to serve their investors worldwide.”
The Bank of New York Mellon has appointed Julian Poodhun, Huw Rees and Kelly Wilson to its alternative investment and broker dealer global client management division. They will be based in London and report to David Aldrich, managing director, Europe, global client management financial institutions division. Poodhun joins The Bank of New York Mellon as the lead client executive for the alternative investment sector. He is responsible for providing the full range of the company’s solutions to alternative investment fund managers. Rees and Wilson have both joined the broker dealer client management division from Lehman Brothers. Rees is head of the client executive team for the investment banking sector in Europe and will be responsible for delivering the full range of the company’s solutions to broker dealers. Wilson joins as a client executive for broker dealers and works closely with Rees.
Markit has appointed Neil McPherson as a Managing Director in New York to manage and expand its structured finance pricing services. McPherson will be responsible for Markit’s US residential mortgage-backed securities pricing service, its European asset-backed securities service and its North American CDS of ABS service. He will report to Kevin Gould, President of Markit North America. McPherson joins Markit from NewOak Capital, an advisory, asset management, and capital markets services firm. Prior to this role, he was a Managing Director and head of the asset-backed securities syndicate desk at ABN AMRO in New York. Prior to that, he was a Managing Director at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York, where he led asset-backed securities and collateralized debt obligation research. While at Credit Suisse, he received top rankings from Institutional Investor for fixed-income research several years running. McPherson holds a degree in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.
Brooke Capital has recruited James Cameron as an analyst to work alongside Jonathan Brooke. Cameron started his investment career at Credit Suisse Asset Management in 1997, where he worked for three years with Jonathan, assisting in the management of their Asian investments, including the CS Orient Fund and other products. He followed this with seven years at Atlantis Investment Management, working with Peter Irving, mainly on their Korean investments and in particular on the Korean Smaller Companies Fund, going on to launch the Korean Opportunities Fund. During his time at Atlantis, James spent over three years living and working in Korea. From Atlantis, James joined Pyrenees in Barcelona, where he has spent the last two years managing their Asian Investments, with a focus on Korea and China.
Managing Partners Limited has appointed David Morgan to the new position of Head of Institutional Sales to support the company’s ongoing growth plans. He will be based in MPL’s office in the City of London and will report to Jeremy Leach, the Managing Director. Morgan has joined from Turnstone Asset Management in London, where he was Head of UK and Channel Islands Business Development. He began his career in 1983 when he joined NatWest Bank. He has since worked in a variety of sales roles for Fidelity, Invesco Europe, Aberdeen Asset Management, Close Finsbury Asset Management and London & Capital Investment Management. Jeremy Leach commented: “David has a wealth of experience in sales for a number of investment management companies and he will be a major asset in helping us deliver the message that traded life policies represent a fantastic alternative to the mainstream asset classes that have let investors down over the last couple of years.”
GAM has appointed Nick Spencer as Head of Institutional, UK. Spencer was previously an Executive Director at Lehman Brothers Asset Management, where he headed the company’s European consultant relations and was a member of their Alternative Investment Solutions team. Spencer joined GAM on 22 April 2009, reporting to Craig Wallis, Group Head of Institutional & Fund Distribution. Craig Wallis commented: “Nick will play a key role in continuing to grow GAM’s institutional business by marketing GAM’s products to the institutional market in the UK. His 18 years of experience in the industry and strong existing relationships with investment consultants will prove invaluable in developing this increasingly important part of GAM’s business.” Spencer began his career at Bacon & Woodrow (now Hewitt Associates) before joining Putnam Investments as a Consultant Relations Manager for the UK and Europe. In 2006 he was appointed as an Executive Director at Lehman Brothers Asset Management where he created and managed the company’s European consultant relations program. As part of the alternative investment solutions team, Spencer provided advice on how pension funds and institutions can best invest in alternatives and helped them develop solutions to meet their particular needs.
International legal practice, Norton Rose LLP, has announced that Michael Newell has joined the investment funds team as a partner. He joins from DLA Piper where he was a partner in their investment funds group. Prior to becoming a partner at DLA, Newell spent four years at Freshfields where he concentrated primarily on hedge and other alternative investment funds and structured products. Before joining Freshfields he was a corporate broker for closed-ended investment funds at Merrill Lynch International. Mike Newell commented: “Norton Rose LLP is one of the leading practices for investment funds work. I could not wish for a better platform on which to build a hedge and alternative investment funds practice. In addition to its highly rated investment funds team, Norton Rose LLP has first class regulatory and tax teams to provide clients with the highest quality service right across its international network.”
Herman Daems is to be proposed as Chairman of the new board of Fortis Bank once the acquisition of 75% of its capital by BNP Paribas has been completed. Daems, after a long and distinguished career as an economist, academic and consultant, became Chairman, in 1999, of the Board of Gimv, one of Belgium’s top private equity firms. He has thus played a key role over the last 10 years in the dynamic development of midsize Belgian companies. Commenting on his appointment, Herman Daems stated, “My objectives as Chairman of Fortis Bank will be threefold. First, I want to make sure that Belgium will once again have the advantages of a very successful Fortis Bank that fully serves the financial needs of Belgian citizens and Belgian businesses. Second, I will assist Fortis Bank’s executive team in realizing an integration process that creates value for the Belgian economy and for BNP Paribas. Third, I will help management in exploring international opportunities for Belgian financial and business capabilities.”
Sourcecap International has added to its European equities team with the appointment of Ronald Port as Senior Analyst. Port joins Sourcecap having previously run the Fidelity Nordic Fund for Fidelity International, where he worked formerly alongside Sourcecap director and Chief Investment Officer, James Rutherford. Port joined Fidelity in 2002 as an equity research analyst covering the European support services industry, before moving on to follow sectors including German small and mid-caps, paper and pulp packaging, technology hardware and European large-cap consumer companies.
Aviva Investors has appointed Erich Gerth as Global Business Development Director to lead the firm’s business development and marketing capabilities. Gerth will be based in London and report to Aviva Investors CEO Alain Dromer, as a member of the executive committee. He will begin his new role in July 2009, where he will be responsible for Aviva Investors’ business development strategy and implementation on a global basis. He will also lead and grow the firm’s relationships with clients and consultants. Gerth has over 22 years of asset management experience as a business leader and sales manager across a broad range of international markets. Most recently Erich was CEO of Janus International, where he was responsible for Janus Capital’s Non-US Institutional and Financial Institutions businesses – Europe, Asia, Japan and Australia. Aviva Investors Chief Executive Alain Dromer said: “This is a vital role in the promotion and delivery of Aviva Investors’ capabilities and offering to clients. Erich is a highly experienced leader in asset management who has developed a successful career that matches Aviva Investors’ ambition in cross-border sales and which will equip him well for his role with us.
