GERMANY - Frankfurt-Trust, the asset manager of private bank BHF-Bank, has named Gerhard Engler as its new managing director for institutional funds and corporate pension solutions. The appointment is effective from January 1.

Engler, who joined Frankfurt-Trust 11 months ago as an institutional sales director, replaces Hans-Jörg Frantzmann.

As reported last week, Frantzmann will on January 1 join the German arm of Fidelity Investments as its new head of institutional sales. He is part of a new institutional team being built by Klaus Mössle, a former executive at Deutsche Asset Management and a well-known figure in Germany's institutional market.

Frankfurt-Trust said Engler's previous experience included tenures at UBS and Allianz Global Investors, where he advised institutional clients on asset-allocation, asset-liability modelling and fund administration. The 45-year-old holds a degree in law.

Frankfurt-Trust currently has €7bn in assets under management, €3bn of which is pensions money. The asset manager is part of BHF-Bank, which was acquired in early 2005 by Sal. Oppenheim, Germany's largest independent private bank.

Cologne-based Oppenheim also operates an asset manager that has €23bn under management, but this business is kept separate from Frankfurt-Trust.

Recently, BHF-Bank opened its external pension fund (known as a contractual trust arrangement) to business outside of the bank. According to BHF-Bank, this means small to midsize firms that still finance liabilities via book reserves can outsource those liabilities to its vehicle.

BHF-Bank launched its CTA last January to fund €165m of its own pension liabilities. Asset management for the vehicle is handled by Frankfurt Trust.

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