SH Pension, Brunel Pension Partnership, PRI Pensionsgaranti, Columbia Threadneedle, Wells Fargo, AMF, LOIM, PTL

SH Pension — Swedish mutual trade-sector pension fund SH Pension has appointed Annelie Helsing as its new chief executive officer. The SEK6bn (€567m) fund said she has replaced Lena Schelin, who was acting CEO since November.

SH Pension has been undergoing several structural changes, as it prepares to operate under Sweden’s new IORP II regulatory regime, as opposed to the Solvency II framework.

Earlier this month, the fund announced the chair of the supervisory board of national pensions buffer fund AP6, Catrina Ingelstam, would become the acting CEO of its investment funds arm Svensk Handel Fondförsäkring.

The funds subsidiary is merging with SH Pension as the firm enters IORP II, with Ingelstam replacing previous permanent CEO Kjell Björk, who said his departure at this point had been part of the plan.

Helsing most recently worked for Swedish occupational pensions organisation PRI Pensionsgaranti as head of business and marketing. Prior to that she also worked for Swedish blue-collar pension fund AMF in various senior roles including head of sales and business relations. SH Pension said Helsing began work in the new role on 9 March.

Brunel Pension Partnership – The asset pooling company for 10 local government pension scheme (LGPS) funds is looking to fill a board-level position with responsibility for leading stakeholder engagement. The chief stakeholder officer will report to the CEO. His or her objectives will include building and sustaining strong relationships with Brunel’s shareholders, the 10 LGPS funds.

The post-holder will also be expected to work with the chief responsible investment officer and the rest of the investment team “to ensure stakeholders understand our activities and achievements”. Another key area will be influencing and liaising with central government “and the wider political arena”.

More information about the position and desire profile can be found here.

PRI Pensionsgaranti — Swedish occupational pensions organisation PRI Pensionsgaranti has appointed Jonas Jonsson as its new president and CEO. The firm, which provides guarantees and administers book reserve pension schemes, said Jonsson will replace current CEO Jan Ahlström, who is retiring after being at the helm for 10 years.

Jonsson will join the company – whose largest members include ABB, Volvo and Ericsson – from his current role at Spanish insurance firm Mapfre, where he is in charge of building up the firm’s global life insurance business. He has worked at Mapfre for two and a half years, having also previously worked for Swedbank in various roles including as CEO of its insurance arm, Swedbank Försäkring. He worked for the Skandia group for more than 18 years, in various managerial roles including that of CEO of Skandia Retail Europe.

Jonson will start work at PRI Pensionsgaranti in the summer, though Ahlström is to remain at the firm until his retirement in the winter in order to ensure a smooth handover.

Columbia Threadneedle Investments – The global asset management group has enhanced its central equity research team in EMEA with the appointment of Anne Marie Fleurbaaij as senior equity analyst. She brings 20 years of experience as an equity analyst and portfolio manager. In her new role she will cover UK and European consumer companies.

Fleurbaaij joins from GIC (London) Private Limited where she spent 12 years focusing on consumer equity investments. Prior, she spent seven years at Morgan Stanley where her coverage included pan-European consumer companies. She is also a non-executive director of the Investor Forum.

As part of the ongoing globalization of its central research equity capability and post MiFID II, with reduced reliance on external research, Columbia Threadneedle established a central equity research team in EMEA to complement the company’s existing investment desk research analysts. Over the past 12 months the firm hired four career analysts for this team, including Roger Wilkinson, who was recently appointed head of EMEA equity research.

William Davies, CIO, EMEA and global head of equities, said: “As an active manager, research intensity is a key pillar in our investment approach and we are pleased to expand our central equity research team in EMEA, reflecting a structure which is already in place in the US.”

Wells Fargo Asset Management (WFAM) – The asset management firm has announced five senior hires to its international client group, appointing Emmanuel Archampong, Charlotte Dicker, Markus Weber, Murielle Didier and Teresa Smith as the firm continues to strengthen its international development strategy in Europe.

Archampong joins WFAM’s London office as head of insurance, international. He will lead the firm’s insurance business internationally, operating as the strategic lead with direct coverage of the U.K. market and partnering with regional-based client teams. He joins from Royal London, where he served as head of insurance sales.

Dicker joins as consultant relations director to work with investment consultants and focus on defined contribution (DC) and ESG investment solutions. Also based in London, she will work alongside Joseph Dore, head of consultant relations Europe, and Matt Craddock, client director, focusing on growing the firm’s increasing U.K. institutional presence. Charlotte joins from State Street Global Advisors, where she served as vice president in a similar role.

Joining WFAM’s Frankfurt office as client director, Weber is responsible for developing new business with the German and Austrian institutional asset management market. He joins from Nordea Asset Management, where he served as an institutional sales director.

The firm has also appointed Didier as client director. Based in Paris, she will advise financial institutions in France, Belgium, Luxembourg, Monaco, and French-speaking Switzerland. She was formerly at JP Morgan Asset Management, where she served as a client advisor for wholesale key accounts in France and Monaco.

Smith joins WFAM’s London office as business manager, running the support aspects of the international client group and serving as the primary liaison between the business unit and various support partners. She joined from Janus Henderson Investors, where she served as head of EMEA institutional sales support. Prior to this, she served as vice president and head of international operations for Janus Capital International.

The hires reflect the increasing demand from WFAM’s international clients. The UK, Germany and France represent the firm’s three largest markets by client assets in Europe.

AMF - Lars Wedenborn has been proposed as the new chair of the board at Sweden’s second-largest pension fund AMF, with the fund’s owners trade union LO and employers’ organisation Svenskt Näringsliv having agreed to put his name forward at the annual general meeting on 2 April. From 2007 to this year, Wedenborn was president of FAM, the holding company of the Wallenberg Foundations. He is a board member of Nasdaq Group, metal powders firm Höganäs, packaging manufacturer iNefab and other firms. Once elected, Wedenborn is set to replace Marie Rudberg, the current AMF chair.

Lombard Odier Investment Managers – Rebeca Coriat has been hired as head of stewardship, with a focus on sustainability, corporate governance and ESG analysis. She joined the Swiss asset manager in January from Investec Asset Management, where she was an ESG analyst responsible for advising portfolio managers on global proxy voting and taking the lead on company engagements. Previously she served as senior associate at proxy advisory firm ISS and at Governance for Owners as stewardship services analyst.

PTL – The independent trustee and governance services provider has announced the third new client director appointment since the beginning of the year with Ramona Tipnis joining its Birmingham office. She joins from Inside Pensions where she helped a wide range of trustee boards navigate the increasingly complex pensions landscape in a challenging regulatory environment.

Richard Butcher, managing director, said the appointment is part of a growth plan to increase the team and ”meet the increasing demand for experienced professional trustees”.

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