People moves: Car maker scheme picks new CIO

Volvo, Dalriada, Deutsche Finance International, KanAm Grund Group, Barings, Invesco, APG, The Pensions Authority, Eurosif

VolvoCar Group Pensions – Erik Lidén has been appointed as the new chief investment officer of VGC Investment Management in Gothenburg, Sweden, which coordinates and supports Volvo Car Group’s pension assets. He was previously CIO and head fund manager of the asset management firm Insiderfonder until May 2019. Lidén is replacing Håkan Backlund  in his new role at VGC Investment Management, who, the firm said, would continue working at the firm in another role.

Dalriada Trustees – John Wilson has been appointed head of technical, research and policy, a new position, and Sarah Ballantyne a professional trustee. Wilson joins the provider’s Glasgow office from JLT Employee Benefits, now part of Mercer, where he was most recently head of technical as part of the firm’s quality research group. Wilson has also worked at companies such as Standard Life, Aegon, Scottish Widows and Buck Consultants and is currently chair of the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) in Scotland.

Ballantyne, Dalriada said, is an experienced covenant adviser and qualified insolvency practitioner who joins the firm from PwC. She will be based in the Manchester office.

Deutsche Finance International – The London based pan-European private equity real estate investor has hired Oliver Gardiner as development director as it continues to expand its team of experts in line with the firm’s ambitious growth plans and investment strategy. In his new role, GArdiner will lead on the development aspects within DFI’s current pan-European portfolio and assist in sourcing and executing new investment and development opportunities.

Gardiner has more than 18 years of development experience and joins DFI after two and a half years at Mace Developments where he was development director.

KanAm Grund Group – The international real estate company is strengthening its institutional business with the addition of Daniel Landgraf, who is set to join the firm in April 2020 as director and head of businiess development at KanAm Grund Institutional Kapitalverwaltungsgesellschaft, the division for special real estate funds. Over the last six years Landgraf has worked for GEG German Estate Group and DIC Asset. At the same time as he takes up his position at KanAm Grund Institutional, he will also join the management of StepWise Capital, a subsidiary of KanAM Grund Group specialising in Alternative Investments.

Barings – Agnès Belaisch will join Barings and the Barings Investment Institute as chief European strategist, effective 16 December. In her newly created role, Belaisch will be responsible for providing macroeconomic and geopolitical guidance and context to the firm’s investment teams, helping them navigate markets and identify synergies across Barings’ various platforms and strategies. She will report to Christopher Smart, chief global strategist and head of the Barings Investment Institute, and will be based in London.

Belaisch joins from the London School of Economics, where she was a senior visiting fellow exploring how investing in social and environmental projects can generate market returns. She has worked in asset management, including positions with Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, where she was head of sovereign fixed income, and Threadneedle Investments, where she was head of emerging market strategy and a fund manager.

Invesco – The firm has further strengthened its London-based ETF Capital Markets team with the appointment of Andy Dwiar to the role of head of ETF capital markets for the UK, Benelux and Nordic region. He reports to Jim Goldie, head of ETF capital markets for EMEA, and will focus on developing and enhancing the liquidity and trading ecosystem for Invesco’s UCITS ETFs.

Dwiar joins from BMO Global Asset Management (formerly F&C) where he was responsible for ETF capital markets EMEA. He brings a wealth of experience from both the buy and sell side where he has held various roles such as execution trader, assistant fund manager and high yield broker.

Invesco has also continued to invest in and grow its London-based ETF team throughout 2019 as it looks to capture increasing market share and service more clients. It recently strengthened its business development team with the appointment of Ambrice Miller.

Goldie said: “In an environment where every basis point counts, trading is becoming an increasingly competitive and important part of the ETF experience and we strive to offer our clients a best-in-class service when it comes to buying and selling our ETFs.”

APG – The €529bn Dutch asset manager and pensions provider has named Pieter Borsboom as its new managing director for communications and branding as of 1 February 2020. In this position, he will report to Francine van Dierendonck, member of APG’s executive board. Borsboom is to succeed Eric Heres, who has been in the job on an interim basis since 2017. Currently, Borsboom is manager branding and communication at insurer Univé.

The Pensions Authority – Ireland’s pension regulator is looking to hire an analyst and team leader for its Regulatory Intelligence Unit (RIU), a management role. The successful applicant must have at least two years management experience in a similar professional environment and/or a third level qualification in computer science, mathematics statistics, data science or an equivalent discipline, among other requirements. The deadline for applications is 20 January 2020.

Eurosif – The European responsible investment association has advertised for an executive director to lead the organisation following its having completed a strategic review. Flavia Micilotta, Eurosif’s last permanent executive director, left at the beginning of this year to join the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. The strategic review was launched that same month, and examined how the association could evolve to better support and implement EU sustainable finance policies.