People moves: ATP appoints chairman, PPF names head of credit

ATP, PPF, Aviva Investors, NZ Super, NN IP, Actuarial Association of Europe, Jupiter, Fulcrum, FMO, Deutsche AM, Fidante Partners, ICI, M&G, Axiom, OppenheimerFunds

ATP – Torben Andersen, professor at the Department of Economics and Business Economics at Aarhus University, has been nominated by ATP’s supervisory board as its new chairman, following the resignation of current chairman Jørgen Søndergaard after 15 years in the role. The election will take place at a meeting of the pension fund’s board of representatives on 7 February next year.

Andersen has held many official roles in the Danish pensions and welfare sector. He was notably chairman of the Pension Commission, which was set up by the last Social-Democrat government in the summer of 2014 with a view to system reforms. It was then disbanded by the centre-right Venstre-led government a year later under the current prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.

PPF – The UK’s Pension Protection Fund – the lifeboat scheme for defined benefit funds – has hired a head of credit as it continues its insourcing drive. Purna Bhudia joins from Legal & General Investment Management where she was a senior credit analyst. At the PPF, Bhudia will help expand the investment team’s capabilities within sterling investment grade credit.

The PPF is actively increasing the amount of assets it runs in-house. In 2015 it hired Trevor Welsh to lead its liability-driven investment strategy, and Ian Scott joined from Barclays in 2016 as head of investment strategy. Earlier this year the fund brought in Tim Robson as head of alternatives.

Barry Kenneth, the PPF’s chief investment officer, said: “Purna brings a wealth of experience and expertise, and will play a vital role as we continue to grow and evolve our investment function. Attracting professionals of Purna’s calibre to join our award-winning team is an endorsement of where we are going.”

Aviva Investors – David Cumming was this week named CIO for equities at the asset management arm of UK insurer Aviva. He will join the firm on 2 January and assume responsibility for equity teams managing £69bn (€78.4bn). Cumming was head of equities at Standard Life Investments until March this year. He worked at SLI – which merged with Aberdeen Asset Management at the start of the year – since 1998.

NZ Super – Adrian Orr, CEO of New Zealand’s sovereign wealth fund, has resigned to become governor of the Reserve Bank of New Zealand. He will leave in March after more than 10 years at the helm of the NZD37bn (€21.9bn) fund.

Catherine Savage, chair of the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, which manages NZ Super, praised Orr’s “strong leadership, commitment to responsible investment and exceptional communication skills”. She added: “Adrian leaves the NZ Super fund in good heart, with a strong team and with an enviable track record of world class performance.”

NN Investment Partners – The Dutch asset manager has hired Eric Verret as head of corporate loans within its alternative credit team, as it continues to grow its alternative credit expertise. Verret joins from GE Capital where he worked for 13 years, latterly as head of a team originating and structuring loans. He also worked as managing director for business development and capital markets, overseeing a fund jointly created by GE Capital and Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Corporation.

In addition, NN IP has appointed two independent external members to its alternative credit investment committee. Uwe Seedorf is chief credit and risk officer at GE Capital, where he has worked since 2001, while Hein Brand is a former CEO of ING Real Estate. They join existing investment committee members Han Rijken, Patrick den Besten and chair Gabriella Kindert.

Actuarial Association of Europe – The AAE has announced the nine members of its new board of directors. Chaired by Thomas Béhar, president of France’s actuarial industry body, the board also includes Finland’s Esko Kivisaari as vice-chairperson and Denmark’s Kristoffer Bork, the previous chair of the board. Other members include Mária Kamenárová (Slovakia), José Manuel Medinhos (Portugal), Wilhelm Schneemeier (Germany), Kartina Thomson (UK), Falco Valkenburg (The Netherlands), and Lutz Wilhelmy (Switzerland).

Jupiter Asset Management – Ash Ray has been appointed to the newly created role of head of governance research. Ray has worked at the UK listed asset manager for 10 years. In the new role, he will lead a team of governance analysts providing research and guidance on regulatory requirements and best practice, Jupiter said.

Fulcrum Asset Management – London-based Fulcrum has hired Matthew Roberts from Willis Towers Watson to create a new alternative assets team. The Alternatives Group will invest in real assets and credit, according to the company. At Willis Towers Watson, Roberts was a portfolio manager for the Towers Watson Partners Fund and related strategies, and was previously in charge of the consultant’s multi-asset and multi-strategy hedge fund research teams.

Andrew Stevens, Fulcrum chief executive, said: “Given our macro focus, clients are increasingly asking us for help with their real asset and credit allocations. These asset classes will continue to grow in their importance as investors diversify and strengthen their portfolios. Led by Matthew, the new Alternatives Group at Fulcrum will provide an attractive investment solution for our clients.”

FMO – Jürgen Rigterink is to leave his position as chief executive of the €9.8bn Dutch development bank FMO as of 1 April, following his appointment as first vice president of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. During his nine years at the FMO, Rigterink helped launch the Climate Investor One fund and the bank platform Arise in co-operation with Norfund and Rabobank. During the search for a new CEO, FMO’s chief investment officer Linda Broekhuizen and chief risk and financial officer Fatoumata Bouare will be in charge of daily management.

Deutsche Asset Management – The German asset manager has hired Michele Gaffo to lead its insurance coverage from 1 February. He joins from PosteVita Insurance Group in Italy, where he was chief investment officer. He was previously CIO of Allianz Italy and has also lead Allianz’s asset-liability management operations in Munich.

Fidante Partners – The investment manager has appointed Joachim Klement as head of investment research, based in London. He is currently chair of the board of trustees for the CFA Institute Research Foundation, and was until recently head of thematic research at Credit Suisse. He has also worked as CIO at Swiss consultancy Wellershoff & Partners, and as head of strategic research and equity strategy at UBS.

The Investment Company Institute – ICI Global, the international arm of the US asset management industry body, has appointed Jennifer Choi as chief counsel. She was previously associate general counsel for global capital markets policy at ICI, playing a leading role in the group’s work on MiFID II compliance. In her new role she will lead the ICI’s global policy work on cross-border legal and regulatory matters, the association said.

M&G Investments – The £275bn asset manager has hired Oliver Wilson as head of asset-based lending in its direct lending team. He joins from Royal Bank of Scotland’s asset-based lending team where he was a member of its management board and head of operations in London and the south.

Axiom Alternative Investments – The French investor has appointed Samuel Laidi as risk controller and Mariya Peykova as marketing manager. Both are based in Paris. Laidi joins from Phileas Asset Management where he held a number of roles including compliance controller, risk controller and head of middle office. Peykova joins from HSBC.

OppenheimerFunds – Patrik Silfverling has been appointed head of the Nordics and Benelux at OppenheimerFunds, based in Stockholm. He will be responsible for growing the firm’s sales and distribution with institutional and high-net-worth clients in the regions. He joins from Franklin Templeton where he was director and head of the Nordics. OppenheimerFunds recently opened a new office in London and hired Dicken Watson as EMEA COO.