7 Dec 2011
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority has appointed Benjamin C. Weston as Global Head of Alternative Investments, effective immediately. ADIA, a leading sovereign wealth fund, is a major investor in hedge funds and other alternative investments.
Together with the senior management team of Alternative Investments, Weston will be responsible for developing strategy in the alternatives sector and overseeing the department’s investment programme. He is based in Abu Dhabi and reports to Khalifa Almheiri, Executive Director of the Alternative Investments Department.
“We are very pleased to welcome Ben Weston to ADIA,” said Almheiri, Executive Director of ADIA’s Alternative Investments Department. “His extensive and varied experience across the alternative investments industry will help us to further develop our capabilities and breadth of expertise in this important area.”
In a 30 year career, Weston has been focused on the development and use of derivatives by investors. He has also worked closely with hedge funds, first as an adviser, and then as an investor.
Since 2008 Weston has been resident in Geneva managing investments for institutional investors, most recently as CEO of Helvetica Wealth Management Partners, a company controlled by Credit Suisse and the State of Qatar. Prior to that from 2005, he was CEO of Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments overseeing $26 billion in assets under management across platforms that served clients worldwide.
In 1998, after eight years in different senior roles at Credit Suisse, Weston converted a number of business units to hedge funds, several of which continue today. Subsequently, he created his own firm to incubate emerging hedge-fund managers.
Weston began his career in 1978 at J.P. Morgan and later joined Bankers Trust in London as head of its Capital Markets Group, before also starting and leading its equity derivatives business in Europe and Asia.
Established in 1976, ADIA is a globally diversified investment institution that is wholly owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. ADIA manages a substantial global investment portfolio, which is highly diversified across more than two-dozen asset classes and sub-categories, including quoted equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, alternatives and infrastructure.
Together with the senior management team of Alternative Investments, Weston will be responsible for developing strategy in the alternatives sector and overseeing the department’s investment programme. He is based in Abu Dhabi and reports to Khalifa Almheiri, Executive Director of the Alternative Investments Department.
“We are very pleased to welcome Ben Weston to ADIA,” said Almheiri, Executive Director of ADIA’s Alternative Investments Department. “His extensive and varied experience across the alternative investments industry will help us to further develop our capabilities and breadth of expertise in this important area.”
In a 30 year career, Weston has been focused on the development and use of derivatives by investors. He has also worked closely with hedge funds, first as an adviser, and then as an investor.
Since 2008 Weston has been resident in Geneva managing investments for institutional investors, most recently as CEO of Helvetica Wealth Management Partners, a company controlled by Credit Suisse and the State of Qatar. Prior to that from 2005, he was CEO of Merrill Lynch Alternative Investments overseeing $26 billion in assets under management across platforms that served clients worldwide.
In 1998, after eight years in different senior roles at Credit Suisse, Weston converted a number of business units to hedge funds, several of which continue today. Subsequently, he created his own firm to incubate emerging hedge-fund managers.
Weston began his career in 1978 at J.P. Morgan and later joined Bankers Trust in London as head of its Capital Markets Group, before also starting and leading its equity derivatives business in Europe and Asia.
Established in 1976, ADIA is a globally diversified investment institution that is wholly owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi. ADIA manages a substantial global investment portfolio, which is highly diversified across more than two-dozen asset classes and sub-categories, including quoted equities, fixed income, real estate, private equity, alternatives and infrastructure.
