EdenTree, Neuberger Berman, PMT, Blue Sky Group, Lombard Odier, DCIF, GAM, Nikko AM, LGPS Central
LGPS Central – The UK investment pool for eight Midlands-based local authority pension funds announced two key appointments to its private and public market teams.
Mark Davies, who has been with the firm since 2018, will take over as head of public markets – a role that has been empty since the departure of Ian Brown in September 2022. Brown left to join Infrastructure Bank, a spokesperson for the pool told IPE.
Davies joined LGPS Central’s public equities team following a two-year tenure at Derbyshire Pension Fund. During his time at the fund, he played a key role in managing its equity investments, both directly and through funds. Prior to that, Davies worked for multiple asset managers including Sanlam Four and Schroders.
LGPS Central also appointed Nadeem Hussain, who joined LGPS Central in 2020, to take the lead on private markets, a new role.
Hussain has more than 15 years of experience across infrastructure and un-listed assets. He has worked as investment director at a global infrastructure fund, among other positions.
Both Davies and Hussain will report to LGPS Central chief investment officer Gordon Ross.
DC Investment Forum (DCIF) – The forum has elected Mark Austin as its new chair and David Whitehair as vice-chair for 2024. Baillie Gifford’s Lorna Kennedy, the DCIF’s 2023 chair, becomes immediate past chair and will sit on the board for one more year.
Austin is a pensions and insurance executive for Northern Trust’s asset servicing business in EMEA, where he leads the growth strategy for the firm’s pensions and insurance business. He is also chair of trustees of the Northern Trust UK Pension Plan. He has more than 35 years of experience in managing and administering retirement assets.
Whitehair is director of institutional business, UK defined contribution (DC) at Janus Henderson Investors, a position he has held since 2020. He is responsible for the strategic development of the firm’s UK DC business. Before this, he spent a decade at Fidelity, working in DC business development.
Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) – Adam Molina has been appointed as chief operating officer, as the firm further strengthens its senior leadership team.
He started his career in New York as an equity research analyst at Whitehall Asset Management and joined Lombard Odier in 2007 from Dillon Read Capital Management to re-establish the firm’s New York office and to launch the 1798 alternatives business.
When LOIM was formed in 2009, Molina moved into the role of head of product development based in London. In recent years, his position expanded to include business strategy and insights.
Based in London, Molina will sit on the executive committee of LOIM and will report to Jean-Pascal Porcherot, head of LOIM and managing partner, Lombard Odier Group. In his new role at LOIM, Molina will oversee a number of core functions, including trading, IT and operations, fund services, legal and compliance, client servicing and finance.
Molina takes over the COO role from Alexandre Meyer, who was recently appointed managing partner, Lombard Odier Group.
PMT – Caspar Vlaar has joined the board of PMT, the pension fund for the Dutch metal-processing industry.
Vlaar, who is also a board member of the company pension schemes KPN and PostNL, will also be part of the PMT’s investment committee and will be in charge of sustainable investing. At the same time, Vlaar has left his post at sector scheme Pensioenfonds Recreatie, which services workers in the holiday and amusement industries.
Neuberger Berman – Matt Malloy has been appointed head of EMEA, following Dik van Lomwel’s decision to transition to vice-chair EMEA after serving as head of the region since 2009.
Malloy joined Neuberger Berman in 2015, spearheading the creation of its insurance solutions business before assuming leadership of the firm’s global institutional efforts. Having relocated to London last year, he will retain these positions and expand his responsibilities, subject to applicable regulatory approval and following an orderly transition.
Under van Lomwel’s leadership, Neuberger Berman’s EMEA business has experienced robust business growth through strong client partnerships, including an increase in assets under management from $3bn to $64bn since 2009 and substantial employee additions to serve the growing client base. This is accompanied by the expansion of European-based investment teams across public and private markets and build out of Neuberger Berman’s local operating platform.
In his new role, van Lomwel will focus on supporting client relationships and advising firm regional leadership.
Jeremy Coller Foundation – The strategic grant-making organisation has appointed Fiona Reynolds, former CEO of the UN-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) to an advisory role as president of the FAIRR initiative and the recently launched Coller Pensions Institute.
The FAIRR initiative, founded by Jeremy Coller in 2015 is the fastest-growing global investor network, backed by investors managing more than $70trn of assets. It provides market data, research and tools to help investors understand material ESG risks and opportunities in the global food sector.
In her role, Reynolds will offer strategic counsel to FAIRR’s founder, executive director and team, drawing on her vast experience to help further increase the initiative’s impact in the broader ecosystem of investors, funders and partners. She will also represent FAIRR at various public forums including international conferences and high-level dialogues.
EdenTree – Will Oulton has been appointed chair of the responsible investment advisory panel, whose members advise on EdenTree’s responsible investment process, approach and ethical dilemmas.
Oulton brings a wealth of experience to this role. He currently serves as chair of the European Sustainable Investment Forum (Eurosif) and is a non-executive director and board champion for Ocean Recovery at the UK-based Marine Conservation Society, and chair of King Charles III’s Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Expert Panel.
He previously held the position of global head of responsible investment at First Sentier Investors. His appointment to the EdenTree panel comes after the departure of responsible investment veteran Neville White.
Blue Sky Group – Rob Brand has been promoted to head of fiduciary management at the Dutch pension asset manager. The move comes after Blue Sky Group decided to merge its departments for fiduciary advice and portfolio management.
Brand had been head of portfolio management at the firm which, among others, manages the assets of the three pension funds of Dutch national airline KLM, since 2017.
GAM – Takakiyo Iwamoto has been appointed representative director of GAM Japan in Tokyo. In this role, he will lead all distribution activities and GAM’s office in Japan.
Iwamoto joined GAM as head of distribution in Japan in October 2023. Since then, he has successfully managed client relationship and acquisition activities based on his broad experience of the financial sector and excellent network in the Japanese industry.
Prior to joining GAM, Iwamoto worked for Barclays Securities Japan as senior sales manager responsible for developing quantitative investment strategies for large financial institutions. Before that,
he was a senior sales executive at State Street Global Advisors
(Japan) and worked for JPMorgan Securities Japan in equity and
fund derivative marketing.
Masato Tojima, former representative director and president of GAM Japan will leave the firm after a six-year stint.
Nikko Asset Management – The asset manager has selected Seth Masters and Mark Stoeckle to join its board of directors to further enhance corporate governance, while incorporating their knowledge, experience and best practices from the US into the firm’s management practices.
Masters has extensive experience in the asset management business. He spent more than 25 years at Alliance Bernstein in New York, serving as CIO across multiple asset classes, and catering to retail, institutional and high-net-worth clients. He is currently vice-chair at New York Angels, a New York-based organisation composed of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
Stoeckle served as chief executive officer at the Baltimore, Maryland-based investment manager Adams Funds since February 2013. During his tenure as CEO, the firm generated exceptional investment performance despite periods of extreme volatility. He has held other key positions such as CIO at BNP Paribas Investment Partners.
Following these appointments on 1 April, nine of the 11 members of Nikko AM’s board will be outside directors.
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