Bank of America Merrill Lynch has announced the appointment of Ritesh Rihani as Head of Alternative Investments for Wealth Management, Europe, the Middle East and Africa . Mr. Rihani joins from Barclays Wealth. He will be based in London and reports to Trang Chu, Head of Financial Products Group, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, EMEA.

In the newly created role of Head of Alternative Investments for Wealth Management EMEA, Mr. Rihani will work to provide an integrated, solutions-oriented, product and service programme for Merrill Lynch Wealth Management clients.

Working closely with Alternative Investment colleagues across Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Wealth Management and Global Banking and Markets, he will develop and deliver a coordinated Alternative Investments strategy for the Wealth Management business.

Mr. Rihani has 12 years of experience in the financial sector, eight of which were in the hedge fund industry. At Barclays Wealth, he was responsible for the origination and distribution for hedge funds, building out portfolio management capabilities, the feeder fund platform and a variety of tax efficient alternative products for specific markets. Prior to this, Mr. Rihani worked for Lehman Brothers European Investment Advisory group, where he was responsible for hedge fund manager selection. He began his career as a hedge fund analyst with Altigefi, a fund of hedge funds based in Paris, France.

“We are delighted to welcome Ritesh to the team. His extensive experience of Alternative Investments will further strengthen our offering to Wealth Management clients,” said Trang Chu, Head of Financial Products Group, Merrill Lynch Wealth Management, EMEA. “The addition of this role comes at an important time as the UCITS III framework continues to provide protection for investors through rigorous risk, diversification, counterparty exposure, liquidity and eligible asset constraints.”