(Corrects name) NETHERLANDS – Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch Asset Management has appointed KAS Bank’s Ben Kramer in a bid to stem a loss of institutional business in Benelux.

Kramer recently joined Lombard Odier’s 10-strong sales, acquisition, product and business development team that is headed by Fernand Schurmann.

Kramer’s responsibilities will be in of sales and acquisitions but he will also be involved with product and business development. At KAS he was responsible for sales and acquisitions.

KAS told IPE that Kramer would not be directly replaced.

His work will be entirely connected with institutional investors, a spokeswoman for the company said. She also said Kramer’s position was a new one and had been created after some mandate losses, but declined to elaborate on the size of the losses.

The firm said in a statement that it has also recruited Eduard van Gelderen as director of investments, but the spokeswoman told IPE that LODH was not likely to make more appointments for the time being.

Pim Baljet, executive vice president of LODH said: “Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch will embark on a mission to regain and further strengthen its position as largest active, foreign investment manager in the Benelux region.”

The spokeswoman told IPE that the mandate losses amounted to millions of euros, but declined to comment further. She also said LODH’s institutional business in Benelux amounts to €4.7bn.

Last September Credit Suisse Asset Management in Amsterdam hired Jolanda de Groot from LODH. She was replaced at LODH by Boudewijn Kostelijk.

The Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch group has more than €80bn in assets under management in the last quarter of 2004.

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