GLOBAL - Joachim Faber (pictured), chief executive of Allianz Global Investors, is set to retire at the end of this year.
       
Jay Ralph, currently responsible for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) market, will replace him on 1 January 2012.

Marna Whittington will step down from her position as chief operating officer at Allianz Global Investors on 31 March to focus on her role as chief executive at Allianz Global Investors Capital and on the development of the Allianz GI business in the US.

Ralph will assume the role of chief operating officer at Allianz Global Investors and become member of the board on 1 April.

Faber has been chief executive at Allianz GI since 2000. Before joining Allianz in 1997, he held a number of positions at Citicorp, where he worked for 14 years.

At the end of 2009, Allianz Global Investors had almost €1.2trn in assets under management and is ranked in eighth place in IPE's Top 120 European Institutional Managers survey.

The company recently cautioned against exposure to German bonds, saying the country risked losing its status as an investment safe haven following the European Union bailout packages.

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