PWRI, Blue Sky Group, Nordea Life & Pension, MP Pension, British Columbia IMC, Coal Pension Trustees, Allianz, Fidelity, Schroders, Better Finance, Columbia Threadneedle, Avana Invest

PWRI – Imke Hollander, head of investment policy and strategy at Dutch fiduciary manager Blue Sky Group, is to join the €8bn pension fund for disabled workers in sheltered accommodation (PWRI). She will be leaving Blue Sky effective 1 September. At PWRI, she will take over the responsibilities of Berry Spitsbaard as the adviser to the board’s investment committee, covering the full range of strategic advice. Spitsbaard will be more focused on projects and management of pension administration.

A spokesperson for PWRI said that Hollander’s appointment would further strengthen the advice to the investment committee and its ability to monitor and hold accountable its fiduciary manager, BMO Global Asset Management. Hollander will report directly to Wim Hoek, who was named PWRI’s new director in March.

Nordea Life & Pension – Anders Stensbøl Christiansen, head of equities at Nordea Life & Pension Group, has become acting CIO at Nordea Life & Pension Denmark. It follows Anders Schelde’s move to MP Pension, where he will become CIO of the Danish labour-market pension fund for academic public sector staff from 1 November. 

British Columbia IMC – Stefan Dunatov, who left Coal Pension Trustees earlier this year, is to join British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCIMC) later this year, IPE understands.

Dunatov was CIO at Coal Pension Trustees, overseeing two pension schemes for the coal mining industry. He had led the investment team since 2011, having first joined in 2008 as an investment strategist. He also sits on the investment committee of the £20.9bn (€23.6bn) Wellcome Trust, a charitable foundation, and chairs investment think tank The 300 Club.

BCIMC runs C$135.5bn (€93.3bn) on behalf of public sector pension funds in Canada. A spokeswoman for the company declined to comment.

Allianz – Rémi Vrignaud has been named as the new CEO of Allianz in Austria. He replaces Wolfram Littich, who has led Allianz’s operations in the country since 2001. Vrignaud joined Allianz in the same year as assistant to the board chairman. He has chaired Allianz’s operations in Romania, and most recently has been managing the office of the CEO in Germany. Subject to regulatory approval, he will take up the position on 25 August.

Polar Capital – Gavin Rochussen has joined the UK-based boutique as CEO. He succeeds Tim Woolley, who has moved to a non-executive position. Rochussen was previously group CEO at JO Hambro Capital Management, an equity specialist asset manager. Between 2003 and 2008 he was CEO of wealth management firm Fleming Family & Partners.

Fidelity International – The fund management giant has hired Lucette Yvernault to lead a new “portfolio engineering” team within its fixed income business. Yvernault joins from Schroders where she was a global credit portfolio manager. She has also worked for Citigroup Asset Management.

The Portfolio Engineering Group has been established to design and manage customised fixed income portfolios for institutional clients, Fidelity said. Charles McKenzie, global CIO for fixed income, said the new group reflected “strong appetite for bespoke systematic strategies, provided at a lower cost”.

Better Finance – The European consumer finance lobby group has appointed Aleksandra Maczynska to its Brussels team. She joins from Poland’s consumer and competition regulator, where she was deputy director of its international relations and communication department. She has worked on EU Council working parties in financial services. She has also recently joined the European Commission’s Financial Services User Group.

Columbia Threadneedle Investments – The $467bn (€406bn) asset manager has hired Jesco Schwarz as sales director for savings and cooperative banks in Germany. He joins from Frankfurt Trust Investment Gesellschaft, where he was sales manager. The appointment is part of Columbia Threadneedle’s efforts to expand its distribution in Germany and respond to growing demand from banking clients.

Avana Invest – The German exchange-traded product provider has named Gerhard Rosenbauer to its board. He joined the firm a year ago from Inprimo Invest. He takes over from Thomas Uhlmann, who resigned from the company on 30 June. The company said Rosenbauer would be responsible for asset management for private and institutional investors, as well as for marketing, sales and corporate communications.

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