RPMI, University of Cambridge, Asset Management Exchange, Aegon, Catella, BankInvest, XPS Pensions Group, American Century Investments, Savills Investment Management

RPMI – Julian Cripps, managing director of RPMI Railpen, the in-house manager for the UK’s £26.8bn (€29.8bn) railways pension scheme, will retire at the end of the year.

The industry-wide scheme has appointed Michelle Ostermann, chief fiduciary officer, and Stuart Blackett, managing director of group services, to its board of directors ahead of Cripps’ departure. The announcement also follows the retirement earlier this year of managing director David Maddison.

Ostermann joined RPMI Railpen at the start of this year from British Columbia Investment Management while Blackett has been at RPMI since 2001, having joined from what was then Arthur Andersen. 

University of Cambridge – Tilly Franklin has been appointed the new CIO for the university’s £3.2bn endowment fund. She replaces Nick Cavalla, who left last year after 10 years at the fund to join Talisman Global Asset Management, the family office of the Pears family. He took three investment colleagues with him.

Franklin was already on the university’s investment board – since 2014 – but joins as the endowment fund’s CIO from Alta Advisers, a London-based investment advisory firm and one of Europe’s leading single family investment offices, where she was director of investments and head of private equity. She has also worked at private equity firm Apax Partners, BBC Worldwide and Virgin Management, and is an alumna of the university. 

Stephen Toope, University of Cambridge vice-chancellor, said: “Tilly is the ideal person to lead the endowment fund into this new era. She brings a wealth of financial experience and a passionate commitment to responsible fund management. We are lucky to have her.”

According to a statement, her appointment “coincides with the university’s efforts to tackle the fundamental problems facing humanity such as climate change, food security and chronic disease, where the fund’s contribution plays a vital role in supporting research and scholarship”.  

Asset Management Exchange (AMX) – The institutional platform for investors and asset managers set up by Willis Towers Watson has hired Larry Morrissey as chief compliance officer for AMX Ireland, which manages more than $8bn (€7.2bn) in assets from Cork, in the south of the country.

He was previously at MPMF Fund Management in Ireland, where he served for three years as senior vice president and acted in various compliance roles on behalf of a number of large institutional clients. Before MPMF he was head of investment fund listings at Maples and Calder.

Aegon – The supervisory board of Dutch insurer Aegon has proposed the appointment of Lard Friese as CEO. He is to succeed Alex Wynaendts, who plans to step down after 11 years at the helm.

Friese will join from NN Group where he has been CEO and executive chairman for the past five years. Friese has almost 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, including at Aegon between 1993 and 2003 as executive vice president for life insurance.

Aegon said the intended appointment had been approved by the company’s regulators and positively advised upon by its works council. Friese, who will leave NN with immediate effect, is to start as CEO designate on 1 March and succeed Wynaendts at the AGM on 15 May. Wynaendts is to remain available as adviser to the company until 30 September.

Catella — The fund management arm of Swedish financial firm Catella has appointed Mattias Nilsson to a senior role in its long-short equity management team. He was previously one of the main managers of Brummer & Partners’ Futuris hedge fund. Catella said he would take up his new role on 26 August.

BankInvest — Kasper Lytthans, former portfolio manager and member of the investment board at BankInvest, is leaving the company for a new role at Copenhagen-based prescription medicine supplier Abacus Medicine, where he will work as investor relations manager. He has worked for the Danish investment manager for over 12 years, as a senior analyst before his most recent role. In a post on LinkedIn, Lytthans said he would take up the new role on 15 August.

XPS Pensions Group – James Leeming has joined the pensions consultancy as partner and head of investment in its Manchester office. He was previously a director in the employee benefits practice at JLT Group, and is a qualified actuary. 

American Century Investments – The US manager has again hired from Dimensional Fund Advisors for its new Avantis Investors unit being led by Eduardo Repetto and Patrick Keating, two veterans of DFA. The new recruits are Ted Randall, Mitchell Firestein and Daniel Ong, who were portfolio managers at DFA. 

Avantis Investors is gearing up to launch diversified, tax-efficient and low-cost investment strategies, and in June filed a registration statement with the US regulator for five equity funds. A spokesman said the vehicles would also be offered as separate accounts outside the US. 

Savills Investment Management – Barbara Linnemann has been appointed head of asset management for Germany at the real estate investment manager. Her responsibilities will include driving further growth in company’s business of asset management mandates for foreign investors. She was most recently managing director at Apleona Argoneo, where she was responsible for asset management.

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