Lyxor Asset Management has hired Michael Bernstein to further develop Lyxor’s relationships with U.S. based consultants and institutional investors, including pensions, endowments and foundations, with a particular focus on investments in the firm’s funds of hedge funds offering. He will be based in New York and report to Lionel Erdely, Lyxor’s CEO for the US Michael Bernstein was previously the head of North American marketing for FRM Americas LLC, where he served as lead relationship manager and marketed hedge fund strategies to the firm’s North American clients, which included several of the top pensions and endowments in the U.S. and Canada. Michael is a graduate of Swarthmore College, holds CFA and CAIA charters and is a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Trafalgar Capital Management has announced the appointment of Josh Jacobson, who joins as Partner and Senior Portfolio Manager. Jacobson was previously a Partner and Portfolio Manager at Cheyne Capital and brings with him trading and analytical experience gleaned in the global equity markets over the last sixteen years. Whilst at Cheyne Capital (2002-2009), Jacobson managed a European long/short equity portfolio for the Cheyne Value Fund. Prior to that, he worked for JP Morgan as a Director of Equity Sales, where he worked on the hedge fund sales team. Jacobson began his career at Salomon Brothers Inc in 1994, working initially in New York in the Emerging Market Research Department where he was involved in economic forecasting and equity strategy. In 1997 he was promoted to Director of Equity Sales in London and began to focus on hedge funds and European equities. Jacobson holds a BS in Economics from Arizona State University. At Trafalgar Capital, Jacobson will work alongside founder and Chief Executive Chris Aarons and Senior Portfolio Manager Arjuna Gamage on the Trafalgar Trading Fund. The Fund, a dynamic Equity Trading strategy, looks to capture short-term market mispricings and inefficiencies by identifying price-moving events and information flows that may not yet have been reflected into current share prices. Commenting on the expansion of the team, Chris Aarons, Chief Executive and Senior Portfolio Manager, said: “The expansion of our investment team in London will give the Trafalgar Trading Fund a significant edge in European markets as Josh has such a deep understanding of this region. We are very excited to have him on board and believe that we can continue to deliver the same level of superior risk-adjusted returns as we have consistently done for our investors since launch in 2002. The team has outperformed even in difficult markets, emphasising the importance we place on hiring talented investment professionals.”
International Asset Management has announced the appointment of Andrew Cade as Head of Client Development and Marketing and Mark Faulkenberg as Head of Operational Due Diligence. Based in IAM’s London office, Andrew will be responsible for heading up the client development and marketing team at IAM and will join IAM’s Heads of Department Committee. Andrew has over 14 years of investment experience seven of which is in the hedge fund industry. He was formerly a Director at ABN AMRO and a member of the Alternative Investment Funds Team specialising in listed hedge and private equity funds. During his time at ABN AMRO, Andrew advised IAM on its listed fund Alternative Investment Strategies Ltd. Prior to this, he worked in similar roles at Société Générale and ING Barings. Reporting to Bernard Minsky, Head of Portfolio Analysis & Risk Management, and based in New York, Mark will be responsible for leading the due diligence process at IAM which involves assessing whether funds have robust systems, processes, infrastructure and adequate staffing in place. He has over fifteen years of risk management experience in the hedge fund and fund of hedge funds industry. Previously, Mark worked for Neuberger Berman as Senior Vice President and Head of Operational Due Diligence, Fund Accounting and Administration and Prisma Capital Partners as Head of Operational Due Diligence. Prior to this, he spent nine years as the Chief Operating Officer of the hedge fund group Ramsey (Quantitative Systems, Inc.). Commenting on the appointments, Morten Spenner, CEO at IAM, said: “Both Andrew and Mark have a wealth of experience in their respective fields and we are delighted that they have chosen to work at IAM. These appointments will further strengthen our client development, marketing and risk management teams here at IAM. They reinforce our commitment to growing and developing the business and our continued efforts to improve the service we offer to clients.”
NewFinance Capital LLP has announced the appointment of Marc Romano as Chief Executive Officer from 18 January 2010. Marc joins from Credit Agricole Asset Management Alternative Investment where he was CEO and Head of multi-management business for the CAAM Group. He will report to Marc Hotimsky, who will become Executive Chairman of NFC, in addition to his responsibilities as Chairman of the Investment Committee. The strengthened management team at NFC will also include Benjamin Moute and David Mooney who have been appointed Co-Heads of Investment. Marc Hotimsky, Executive Chairman of NFC, commented: “I am delighted to welcome Marc to the NFC team. His extensive experience and sector knowledge strengthens our management team further as part of our strategy to grow and develop NFC.”
Cheyne Capital has announced the appointment of Tom Wiggin as Head of UK Marketing. In this newly created position, Wiggin will be responsible for the marketing of Cheyne’s expanding range of products in the UK and will work alongside Max Nardulli who was recently appointed as head of International Sales and Distribution. Wiggin joins Cheyne from Deutsche Bank in London where he was since 1998, most recently as managing director responsible for hedge fund relationships in Europe. Prior to this, he ran Deutsche Bank’s top rated convertible bond business. He has also managed the convertibles business at Flemings, and has also worked at Morgan Stanley and Barings. Jonathan Lourie, co-founder and CEO of Cheyne, commented, “With two new high-profile appointments to support our broadening investor base, we are well-positioned to drive forward our growth. We are delighted to welcome Tom to Cheyne where his depth of experience will be a great asset to the team and to our clients.”
GLG Partners LP has appointed Sir John Gieve, the former deputy governor of the Bank of England, to be senior advisor. Sir John will be responsible for providing strategic advice to GLG on macro-economic and wider policy issues, particularly as they have an impact on the financial services sector and the regulatory environment. He joins GLG continuing a distinguished career, including 20 years at HM Treasury and culminating in three years at the Bank of England where he was deputy governor, responsible for financial stability, and an ex officio member of the Monetary Policy Committee. “Sir John has immense experience of financial markets and monetary policy-making, and of the banking sector more broadly,” commented John White, Managing Director of GLG. “His insights will be of great value to our investors and clients at a time when the UK is at a political, regulatory and economic cross-road.” “I am delighted to be joining GLG Partners,” said Sir John. “I have been impressed by the quality of the people, the commitment to clients and the strong investment performance of the UK Equity Team.” Sir John spent most of his career at HM Treasury where he was Private Secretary to three Chancellors and rose to head the directorates responsible for the Budget, public services, and financial regulation before becoming Permanent Secretary of the Home Office for five years. He was Deputy Governor of the Bank of England from January 2006 until February 2009. Sir John will focus primarily on the $2.37 billion UK Equity business at GLG, run by John White and Jason Mackay. The UK Fund range is comprised of the flagship GLG Alpha Select Fund and three long only Funds: GLG UK Select, GLG UK Growth and GLG UK Income.
BNY Mellon Asset Servicing has named James E. Cecere as managing director of Global Product Management for U.S. Financial Institutions. Cecere will lead the group that drives BNY Mellon Asset Servicing’s segment and product strategies for US financial institutions, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, insurance companies and banks. Cecere will be based principally in New York and reports to Dan Wywoda, BNY Mellon Asset Servicing’s head of Global Product Management. Before joining BNY Mellon, Cecere most recently helped launch an investment advisory firm focused on the foreign exchange market. Prior to that, he was head of international operations for Vanguard Group’s $19 billion offshore funds complex, after having managed all banking relationships for the asset management firm, as well as new product development. Before Vanguard, Cecere held a number of senior and global roles at JPMorgan Chase Bank over 11 years, including client management, operations, product management and sales. While there, he was a leading member of the team that developed the bank’s ETF capabilities. Cecere earned his MBA from Duke University. “Jim’s breadth and depth of strategic planning and operational investment experience are absolutely vital in making sure our products continue to meet the needs of our clients,” said Wywoda. “The financial institutions segment is a strategic focus for us and, as its asset servicing needs continue to evolve, Jim will lead our efforts to expand product reach, develop a global framework for high-growth products like ETFs, and help clients adjust to a changing financial landscape.”
Moore Capital Management, the hedge fund founded by Louis Bacon, has appointed six new staff members to the London office. Moore Europe has engaged these hires to vigorously pursue its next phase of growth in 2010. Luke Sandrian, who was previously a partner at Brevan Howard Asset Management, joined Moore Europe in October as a commodities portfolio manager, and James Vogl has joined the company as a macro portfolio manager. Vogl started in the financial world first working at Goldman Sachs before moving to Moore Europe. Other recent appointments include Richard Blake, Director of Investor Relations for Europe at Moore, who was a former senior portfolio manager at Commerzbank’s fund of hedge funds unit. Amna Karim, previously managing director in Nordic sales at Goldman Sachs Asset Management and is now Director of Marketing for Europe, and David Toy, a former employee of hedge fund Amaranth Advisors. Jon Amess has joined in an investor relations role, and was previously working in the institutional clients group at fund of hedge fund Olympia Capital Management
Newedge has announced that John Fay has been named Senior Managing Director and Head of Americas Region, effective immediately. Fay will be based in New York and will focus on expanding and strengthening Newedge’s business lines in the region. Fay will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s regional performance, and will oversee local risk, compliance and regulatory issues. Fay also joins as a Newedge Executive Committee member, reporting directly to Patrice Blanc Newedge CEO, and Nicolas Breteau Global Head of Sales and Front Office. Formerly, as Co-CEO and Co-President of Instinet, he helped grow Instinet into a global institutional brokerage. Fay began his financial services career in 1988, playing a key leadership role in building Morgan Stanley-Dean Witter’s innovative on-line brokerage business. Later, he worked at Goldman Sachs before joining Instinet where he assisted in leading the company’s rapid growth in Europe and Asia, until the company’s sale to Nomura in 2007. Patrice Blanc said “John’s extensive experience and solid knowledge of the financial services industry will be an asset to Newedge’s clients, helping to broaden our global product offering and strengthen our agency model. As a world-leading brokerage, Newedge is now well positioned to continue to grow our business, while delivering superior performance for investors in the highly competitive and dynamic Americas region.” John Fay said “I am very pleased to join the Newedge team and I believe that Newedge’s leading brokerage platform is well positioned in today’s competitive environment to continue to provide strong benefits to our customers in the Americas and around the globe.”
bfinance has announced recent appointments to its Investment Consulting and Corporate Banking research teams. Barry Lee joined as an Associate in bfinance’s Investment Consulting practice where he will manage investment manager search and selection projects. Reporting to Olivier Cassin, Managing Director, Head of Research and Development, Lee will be based in bfinance’s London office. Prior to joining bfinance, Lee trained as a Chartered Accountant at KPMG before moving to Atlas Capital, a fund of funds, where he was a Research Analyst covering strategies including long/short Equities and Distressed. Olivier Cassin commented, “We’re pleased to welcome Barry on board and believe that his background in hedge funds will benefit our clients through our strengthened hedge fund offering. In the current climate, we are seeing clients seek greater diversification in alternatives and we are focused on continuing to enhance our expertise in this area.” Lee has a Masters of Science in Management from Bath University and Bachelor degree in Engineering from UMIST (First Class Hons). He is also a Chartered Accountant with ICAEW. Vincenzo di Lena joined bfinance as an Associate in bfinance’s Corporate Banking practice where he is responsible for cash management tenders and helping treasurers to optimise their operations. Di Lena reports to Aude Soichet, Director, Head of Research and Development, and will be based in Paris. As a native Italian speaker, his primary focus will be the Italian market. Prior to joining bfinance, Di Lena worked for Deutsche Bank SpA in Italy and Deutche Bank AG in Zurich. Di Lena has a degree in Political Sciences from the University of Teramo in Italy and he is a member of the Project Management Institute. During his studies he was an Erasmus Student at the Paris Lodron University of Salzburg. Aude Soichet, Head of Research and Development, bfinance said, “Vincenzo joins the team at an important time for bfinance as we are building our Corporate Banking business in Italy and he will play a key role in helping our new Italian clients with cash management tenders and enhancing their treasury operations. His experience in implementing treasury solutions for large corporations in Italy and in Switzerland is a real asset to the bfinance team and also for our clients.”
