Natixis, Manulife, Pensioenfonds Xerox, AFM, ESMA, TPT, Jupiter, Aon, Investec, DWS, UBS

Natixis Investment Managers – The French asset manager has hired a trio of staff to run global thematic equity strategies. Arnaud Bisschop, Frédéric Dupraz and Nolan Hoffmeyer joined from Pictet Asset Management, with two more unnamed staff to join in the new year. Natixis indicated that it would be launching new “high conviction” strategies covering areas such as water, safety, artificial intelligence and robotics.

At Pictet, Bisschop was co-manager of its €5.2bn water-themed fund. Dupraz was co-manager of the €4.9bn security strategy, and Hoffmeyer was co-manager of the €3.9bn digital fund.

Manulife Asset Management – The $393bn investment house has hired Morten Simonsen as a managing director and head of distribution for northern Europe. He was previously head of the the Nordic region for Pioneer Investments, as well as CEO of its Danish business. He has also led the Nordic business for Pinebridge Investments.

At Manulife, Simonsen will be responsible for business development in northern Europe and will report to Marco Zanuso, head of distribution for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. 

Pensioenfonds Xerox – Rob Smeets has been named as director of the €878m Pensioenfonds Xerox. He is to succeed Niels van Heesen, who is to return to a career as an entrepreneur after working for the pension fund for 20 years. Van Heesen has been a board member at the pension fund since 2005 and is also a member of the scheme’s investment committee.

AFM/ESMA – Merel van Vroonhoven , chair of Dutch watchdog the Financial Markets Authority (AFM), has been reappointed as chair of the Investor Protection and Intermediaries Standing Committee (IPISC) of ESMA, the European supervisor for financial markets. The reappointment is for a two-year period. The IPISC provides technical advice about the quality of investment service provision. 

TPT Retirement Solutions – The UK multi-employer pension provider has appointed Alan Redwood as business development manager, tasked with promoting the company’s services to defined benefit schemes. He was previously head of client and consultant services at HSBC Workplace Retirement Services, and before that was corporate services director at Arthur J Gallagher & Co.

Jupiter – Tom Gardner has joined the asset manager as director of global consultant relations, responsible for building strategic relationships with both global and local consultants. He joins Jupiter from BMO Global Asset Management where he was a director in its consultant relations team, and prior to this held a similar role at Hermes Investment Management.

Aon – Geri McMahon has joined the consultancy’s investment practice as a principal in the responsible investment team. Before taking a career break, McMahon worked on the fixed income trading desk at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, and has also worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland and PwC. She joined Aon through the consultany company’s ‘Returnship Programme’, designed to help experienced people return to the finance industry following a career break.

Aon said McMahon had joined on of the group’s “most active areas in the past year, as UK pension schemes have become increasingly interested in exploring responsible investing initiatives”.

Investec Asset Management – Deirdre Cooper has joined from Ecofin as a portfolio manager specialising in “renewable energy, decarbonisation, electrification and resource efficiency”, the company said. At Ecofin she was a partner and head of research. She also sits on the advisory boards of Girls Who Invest, a non-profit that promotes female representation in asset management, and Imperial College’s Centre for Climate Finance and Investment.

DWS Group – Kumber Husain has been appointed head of private equity for the Americas, a newly created role. He will focus on the sourcing and execution of direct co-investment and secondary private equity transactions, the company said. Husain was previously a member the senior investment team at Morgan Stanley Alternative Investment Partners, and has also worked at WP Global Partners on private market strategies.

UBS Asset Management – Emma Weeder has been appointed as an institutional client relationship manager for the Benelux region and Denmark. She joined UBS from Kempen Capital Management. In addition, Jeroen Wagemaker is to start as a client relationship manager for UBS’ Benelux wholesale team, having previously worked at Rabobank Private Banking, where he analysed direct property, shipping investments and alternatives.

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