GERMANY - Union PanAgora, an institutional fund venture between Germany’s Union Investment and PanAgora Asset Management of the US, has appointed Andreas Sauer as its new chief executive.

Sauer replaces Peter Prentzel, who has retired. Prentzel initiating the joint venture in 1999.

In addition to his responsibilities as CEO, Sauer, 41, will continue as the venture’ chief investment officer. Union PanAgora’s management board also includes Marc Bechtel, who was named chief marketing officer last November.

Shareholders in the joint venture include Union Investment, a German institutional fund provider, and Boston-based PanAgora Asset Management. Each hold a 40% stake in the venture, with the remaining 20% held by the management.

Since its launch in Germany, Union PanAgora has accumulated E4bn in institutional assets, with clients including banks, companies, pension funds, public institutions and insurers.

Union PanAgora’s investment approach is based on a strategy devised by PanAgora in the 1980s. According to PanAgora, the strategy “is predicated on the belief that significant inefficiencies exist in the global capital markets, and that a structured investment process offers the best way to exploit these inefficiencies”.

“This process merges traditional investment theory with quantitative investment techniques,” says PanAgora on its website.

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