Security Global Investors has announced the addition of two new positions intended to intensify the firm’s focus on delivering alternative investment strategies to financial intermediaries and institutional investors. Jerome Abernathy, Ph.D., and David Beeman have joined SGI’s quantitative investment and product development/management teams, and will help shape the firm’s research and product development efforts surrounding alternatives. “Security Global Investors has been a pioneer in packaging non-traditional investments such as managed futures and long/short commodities in retail-friendly, mutual fund structures,” says Richard Goldman, CEO, SGI. “The addition of Abernathy and Beeman to our firm underscores our commitment to continuing to bring innovative alternative investment solutions to the marketplace.” As director of research at SGI, Abernathy will lead the quantitative investment team’s research efforts for new and existing products with a focus on alternative investment strategies. Prior to joining SGI, he served as founder and chief investment officer at Stonebrook Capital Management, LLC, where he managed and developed a number of alternative investment products for institutional investors. During his more than 20 years in the financial services industry, Abernathy has held various research, product development and portfolio management positions at firms such as Moore Capital Management, Inc., Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Beeman also joins SGI with extensive experience in developing and managing alternative investments. As senior product manager at SGI, he will be responsible for the development and management of the firm’s alternatives product line-up in both the financial intermediary and institutional markets. Beeman previously served as managing director, chief operating officer and head of alpha strategies at Citi Alternative Investments in New York. With more than 25 years of financial services experience, he has held similar positions at Thunder Bay Capital Management and Deutsche Bank.“We are pleased to welcome both Jerome Abernathy and David Beeman to our team,” says Michael Byrum, chief investment officer, quantitative strategies at SGI. “Their extensive knowledge of alternatives, as well as their rich industry experience, will enable SGI to accelerate its product development plans for the new year.”
Thames River Capital has announced the appointment of Dahlia Verjee as a senior trader for its 12 strong Global Credit team under the leadership of Stephen Drew. Her role will be to co-ordinate all trade execution for the team and to manage its sell side relationships and follows the successful launch in October 2009 of the Thames River Credit Select Fund and the Thames River Global Credit Fund. Dahlia was previously with Deephaven Capital Management where she was a principal trader working primarily in high yield credit, both cash and CDS, and focusing on identifying catalysts and executing themes in a dislocated market. Prior to this, she worked at D B Zwirn as a trader/analyst in investment grade and high yield credit and at Close Brothers Corporate Finance as a restructuring analyst. Thames River Capital Head of Global Credit, Stephen Drew said, “Thames River is defined by the high calibre of investment professionals working within the company. We are delighted to welcome Dahlia whose experience will further enhance the Global Credit team. We have already seen strong inflows into the two new credit funds, having raised over $220 million since launch, and we continue to see a demand from clients for products which offer a good yield, low volatility and enhanced capital preservation through investment in high quality corporate bonds.”
HSBC Securities Services has appointed Gina Slotosch to the new position of Head of Investor Services within the Global Product Management team, with effect from 1 February 2010. Gina will be based in London and lead the Investor Services product function supported by teams in Asia, Europe, Middle East, and the Americas. Slotosch will report to Ian Stephenson, Global Head of Product for HSS’ Fund Services division, who said: “This is a great appointment for the business. Gina will focus on enhancing our Investor Services proposition, growing our capabilities in key markets and developing our operating model and technology to improve client service and profitability.” Slotosch has worked for HSBC for nearly five years and successfully launched HSBC Trinkaus as a securities services provider in the German-speaking market. She has extensive international experience in the custody and fund administration business, in fund order routing, developing and driving forward strategic developments and implementing change. She has also held senior posts at BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank and State Street.
Walkers has announced the appointment of Carol Hall as Head of its newly-formed Investment Funds Group in Hong Kong. “Asia and Hong Kong in particular have been considerable focal points for Walkers’ growth in recent years and we have received an excellent response from our clients in this region,” said Ms. Hall. “The combination of specialist hedge fund and private equity attorneys within Walkers’ Investment Funds Group will ensure we continue to provide advice that is commercially aware and technically excellent. We will also look for ways to add value, with a focus on responsiveness, which have always been hallmarks of Walkers’ client service model.” Ms. Hall has more than 17 years experience in mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and investment funds, including 11 years specifically in Hong Kong. She specialises in hedge funds and private equity funds and has led the development of Walkers’ Hedge Funds practice in Hong Kong since joining as a partner in 2005.
Ignis Asset Management has announced the appointment of Chris Fellingham as Chief Investment Officer, Fixed Income. Fellingham joins Ignis from George Soros’ London based asset management business where he has been working since 2008. He will join the Ignis Board and take overall responsibility for the company’s circa £50bn of fixed income assets. Peter Reid remains CIO responsible for all other asset classes. Prior to joining Soros Chris spent 12 years at Blackrock/Merrill Lynch/Mercury Asset Management where he was Head of the London based Fixed Income teams. Previously, Fellingham had spent 10 years at Royal Insurance, again as Head of Fixed Income. Fellingham, comments: “I am delighted to be joining the Ignis investment team at such an exciting phase in the business’ development. My key focus will be on accelerating the development of Ignis’ Fixed Income capability and increasing the attractiveness of our proposition to investors. Ignis has a great reputation in Fixed Interest investment and the focus of the team will be to further enhance this.” Chris Samuel, Chief Executive at Ignis Asset Management, says: “Chris’ appointment is obviously a major coup. His experience and input will be invaluable to the business. This is another major step towards ensuring that we have the investment and management talent to deliver on our aspirations. We have ambitious plans and 2010 will be a year of significant investment in building both our investment capability and the Ignis brand. I am delighted that we are able to attract people of the calibre of Chris Fellingham to help achieve our goals.”
Tom Holland has been appointed a Partner in Cube Capital, the London-based global alternative investment and advisory firm. Based in Hong Kong, Holland runs Cube’s Asia activities and is Portfolio Manager of the QBridge Fund. He is the first Cube employee to be made Partner, joining the three Founding Partners. Holland started at Cube in early 2006 after working with Income Partners, an Asian credit fund, as a Portfolio Manager for private and liquid credit products. A US national, he came to Asia in 1997 with JP Morgan and became the COO of a multi-dealer Asian credit trading platform Asiabondportal in 1999, a subsidiary of JP Morgan and Income Partners. Francois Buclez, the CEO and CIO of Cube Capital, said, “The Founding Partners have always recognised that for the firm to expand, talented individuals need to be included at Partner level to help drive growth and strategic direction. Tom has made a profound contribution to the company since his start at Cube, helping to set up our Hong Kong office and Asia-focused investment teams and products, and has become the driving force behind our Asian effort.” In addition, two other key members of the Cube team, Janene Waudby and Scott Gibb, have been promoted to Managing Director. Waudby is Cube Capital’s General Counsel and has been instrumental in building the business since joining the firm in 2006. Before starting at Cube she was a partner at international law firm Jones Day. Gibb has been managing Cube’s core fund of hedge funds business since 2006. Prior to joining Cube, he worked as investment manager at PSolve Alternative Investments (London).
Alternative investment manager Arrow Capital Management has announced the appointment of Ivan Wanat to Director of Business Development. Wanat will be responsible for leading the firm’s marketing and client service efforts with a focus on institutional investors and consultants. Wanat will report to Co-Managing Members Mal Serure and Alex von Furstenberg. “This new position at our firm marks a significant expansion of our business as we implement a marketing strategy to diversify our investor base,” said Mal Serure. Alex von Furstenberg added, “We are very excited to bring Ivan on board as we continue to grow our organization. He brings a wealth of experience and a wide range of investor relationships from his past fundraising positions.” Prior to joining Arrow Capital, Mr. Wanat was a Principal at Atlantic-Pacific Capital where he performed all aspects of capital raising for top-tier hedge fund managers, including hedge fund sourcing, due diligence, deal management and coordination of all marketing activities. Prior to his tenure at APC, Wanat spent two years as a placement agent in Credit Suisse’s Private Fund Group (2005-2007) and six years as an investment banker in J.P. Morgan’s Hedge Fund Coverage and Private Placement groups (1999-2005). Wanat earned his BBA in Finance at James Madison University and completed his MBA at New York University’s Stern School of Business
Alexander Ineichen will support Prime Capital, a provider of integrated asset management and investment banking solutions, as Senior Strategist. Ineichen will be responsible for the research and product development for satellite investments, focusing on alternative investments and absolute return strategies, as well as on commodities, energy and credit. “We are delighted that Alexander Ineichen, a most noted expert for alternative investments and derivatives, will join Prime Capital. We are confident that his renowned expertise will be a valuable asset for our clients“, says Wolfgang Stolz, founder and CEO of Prime Capital. Alexander Ineichen is founder of Ineichen Research and Management AG, a specialist absolute return and special topic investments company. Until 2009, Ineichen worked at UBS Global Asset Management as Senior Investment Officer Alternative Investment Solutions and as Head of Industry Research for its hedge fund platform. Prior to this, Ineichen worked as research specialist for derivative financial instruments and alternative investments at UBS. Ineichen is also known in the sector for his publications, including “In Search of Alpha – Investing in Hedge Funds“ (2000), “Absolute Returns – The Risk and Opportunities of Hedge Fund Investing“ (2002) and “Asymmetric Returns – The Future of Active Asset Management“ (2006). He is also the author of numerous research publications regarding equity derivatives and hedge funds – including “AIMA’s Roadmap to Hedge Funds” (2008). Ineichen has a degree in economics and is Chartered Financial Analyst, Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst and Financial Risk Manager. He is also a member of the supervisory board of CAIA Association and a member of the Investor Steering Committee of Alternative Investment Management Association.
The Board of Directors of the Winton Futures Fund has announced that Klaus Regling and Jean-François Théodore have both been appointed as a director of the Fund with effect from January 1, 2010. Klaus Regling, a German national, has worked for 34 years as an economist in senior positions in the public and the private sector in Europe, Asia and the U.S. He is currently chairman of KR Economics, an economic and financial consultancy in Brussels, and a member of the Issing Commission that advises Chancellor Merkel on the reform of the global financial architecture. Prior to July 2009 he spent a year as a Fellow at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy in Singapore researching financial and monetary integration in Asia. From 2001-2008 Regling was Director General for Economic and Financial Affairs of the European Commission. Previously, he was Managing Director of the Moore Capital Strategy Group in London and Director General in the German Ministry of Finance where he worked for more than a decade preparing Economic and Monetary Union in Europe. Regling was also on the staff of the International Monetary Fund for more than a decade, including two years as the Resident Representative in Jakarta. Jean-François Théodore holds a law degree from the University of Paris and is a graduate of the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and the Ecole Nationale d’Administration. Until the end of 2009 Théodore was Deputy Chief Executive Officer of NYSE Euronext. He has also been Chairman of the Managing Board of Euronext N.V. and a member of the Board of Directors of LCH Clearnet, LIFFE, ATOS, and GL Trade. He is ending his mandate as director of Euroclear and remains a non-executive director of NYSE Euronext. Théodore presided over the International Federation of Stock Exchanges for two years (1993-1994) and was President of the Federation of European Stock Exchanges from 1998-2000. Prior to becoming Chairman and CEO of Paris Bourse SBFSA in 1990, Théodore spent 15 years in the French Ministry of Economy and Finance, ending as Deputy Director in charge of the Investments, State Participations and Public Corporations Department. “We’re extremely happy to welcome Klaus and Jean-François onto the board of the Winton Futures Fund,” said David Harding, founder and managing director of Winton Capital Management. “We feel that the extraordinary depth of their knowledge and experience will be of great value in the years to come.”
Newedge has announced that Laurent Cunin has been appointed Head of Asia Pacific Region, and Pierre Gay has been named Global Head of Fixed Income, Currency and Commodities. Gay will remain based in Hong Kong at least during the first quarter 2010 making the transition with Laurent Cunin, who will be replacing him at the Head of Asia Pacific Region. Cunin was acting CEO Americas and Head of Sales Americas. He previously spent a total of eight years in Asia, and until 2005 was the head of Fimat’s Tokyo office. Cunin will be based in Hong Kong and will focus on expanding and strengthening Newedge’s operations in the Asia Pacific region. Cunin is a Newedge Executive Committee member, reporting directly to Patrice Blanc Newedge CEO, and Nicolas Breteau Global Head of Sales and Front Office. Gay will be responsible for global product management and development, working with regional heads on FICC regional performance and reporting to Nicolas Breteau Global Head of Sales and Front Office. Patrice Blanc said “These appointments reinforce our intention to offer our clients a range of products which are consistent between the different geographical regions. FICC covers Forex, Fixed Income, Energy, Agricultural & Metals businesses and will provide a better coverage of our customer base to match our global organization. It will also offer stronger cross selling opportunities between Forex, Fixed Income and Commodities. Our global product offering will have more coherence and consistency between the different regions, including Asia Pacific, the Americas and Europe and Middle East.”
Casey, Quirk & Associates has appointed two new Partners: Daniel Celeghin and Grace L. Cicero. Celeghin has focused on the alternative investment management industry since joining Casey Quirk in 2002, and played an instrumental role in developing Casey Quirk’s proprietary hedge fund benchmarking frameworks for the firm’s hedge fund clients. He is the lead author of Casey Quirk’s 2009 whitepaper on the hedge fund industry, The Hedge Fund of Tomorrow: Building an Enduring Firm, in partnership with the Bank of New York Mellon. He has worked with more than 60 asset management companies on projects covering business strategy, distribution dynamics, organization structure, product development, and economic alignment restructuring. He is an alumnus of Cornell University. Cicero serves as Chief Administrative Officer, managing Casey Quirk’s administrative team, coordinating human resource and benefits administration, and executing the firm’s recruiting effort. She is responsible for proposal and revenue tracking, accounting activities, vendor relationships, and all facilities-related issues. Before joining Casey Quirk in 2002, she was Manager of Administration at the Barra Strategic Consulting Group. Prior to that, she was a program manager with General Electric. She graduated magna cum laude from Johnson & Wales University. “Daniel and Grace have made substantial contributions to our firm during the past eight years,” said John F. Casey, Chairman of Casey Quirk. “We are proud to welcome them as Partners.”
Polar Capital Holdings has announced the appointment of John Regnier-Wilson, formerly a senior sales manager at Martin Currie and Axa Framlington, to the Group’s UK sales team. The appointment comes as Polar Capital looks to expand its UK business. Regnier-Wilson joins Polar Capital from Martin Currie on 1st February 2010 and will be responsible for developing the distribution of Polar Capital’s fund range in the UK, focusing primarily on wealth managers and stockbrokers. Working closely with Iain Evans, Head of UK Sales, he will primarily be supporting Polar Capital’s UCITS fund range, including the UK Absolute Return Fund, and also the Polar Capital Technology Trust. Commenting on the appointment, Tim Woolley, CEO of Polar Capital, said: “We are delighted to welcome John to our sales team. He brings with him an impressive track record of developing brand profiles within the London discretionary market and a wealth of contacts with which we hope to further expand our UK business. We look forward to accelerating the growth of our UK business over the coming year.”
Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP has announced that Daniel F. Hunter has been elected to the partnership of the firm and that Michael G. Brown and Abbey K. Walsh have been appointed to special counsel. The promotions were effective on Jan. 1, 2010. “All of these lawyers have distinguished themselves through their contributions to our clients and the firm,” said Paul Roth, a member of the firm’s executive committee. “We are proud to recognize their achievements and talents.” Hunter, a partner in the investment management group in New York, concentrates his practice on the design, structure and regulation of alternative investment products (including hedge funds, hybrid funds and private equity funds). He regularly advises funds that invest in distressed debt, asset-backed securities and bank loans. He also provides regulatory, operational, M&A, restructuring and related advice to fund clients and provides advice to funds that make seed capital investments as well as those that are the recipients of seed capital. He received his J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1995; and his A.B., cum laude, with high honors in history, from the University of Michigan in 1991. Brown, a special counsel in the investment management group in New York, focuses his practice on advising hedge funds, private equity funds and investment advisers in connection with their structuring and formation, ongoing operational needs, general securities law matters and other compliance matters. He received his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1999 and his B.A., cum laude, from The George Washington University in 1996. Walsh, a special counsel in the business reorganization group in New York, focuses her practice on the representation of investment funds and financial institutions in distressed situations, including distressed acquisitions by existing creditors through “credit bid” or similar strategies, and by third-party investors interested in pursuing distressed opportunities. She received her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1999 and her B.S. from the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1996.
Frey Quantitative Strategies, the London and New York based fund of hedge funds, has recruited Dan O’Connor as Head of North American Development and Investor Relations. He will be based in FQS’s Long Island office and joins from Asset Alliance, where he was a Senior Managing Director for Sales.
Union Bancaire Privée announced that they have hired Emmy Labovitch as Head of Marketing for Asset Management. Before joining UBP, Labovitch was Global Head of Marketing at Fortis Investments.“We are delighted to welcome Emmy” said Richard Wohanka, CEO of Asset Management and Alternative Investments at UBP. “She brings extensive international expertise in financial product development and marketing, building on her professional experience as an emerging-market equity manager”. Labovitch sits on the Executive Committee of Asset Management and reports directly to Mr Wohanka. “I am very pleased to be joining such an innovative and dynamic business and to take an active part in the development of its Asset Management activities, as well as in its long-term growth”, added Labovitch.
Baronsmead, an insurance broker to the investment management sector, has announced the appointment of James Hollowell as Business Development Director for Guernsey. Hollowell's main focus will be the continued provision of directors’ and officers’ liability and professional indemnity insurance services for the investment management sector and related service providers, as well as for the growing number of independent directors based on the Island. He will also further develop the firms’ relationships with key professional advisors and their clients. Prior to Baronsmead, Hollowell was Head of Sales and Marketing for Bank of Ireland (Offshore) and Financial Planning Manager at Channel Financial Services (Offshore). Robert Kelly, Managing Partner, said in a statement: “We believe the Guernsey funds industry recognises the need for advice led insurance solutions and we are very excited about the establishment of a locally regulated office in Guernsey. The appointment of James confirms our commitment to provide local service and professional advice in the Channel Islands and other fund centres. James, who has always lived on the Island, brings to us an extensive depth of local knowledge combined with over 20 years of financial services experience.”
