Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER), OP Financial, British Airways, Pensions Infrastructure Platform, Impax Asset Management Group, Schroders, Morgan Stanley, HSBC Asset Management, Neptune Investment Management, M&G Investments

Valtion Eläkerahasto (VER) – The Finnish state pension fund has appointed Mikko Räsänen as head of fixed income, with the expectation that he will broaden the team’s spectrum of skills. Räsänen takes over from Jukka Järvinen, head of fixed income at the €18.7bn pension fund for 15 years before leaving the job in March. Räsänen, previously a vice-president at the OP Financial Group in Finland, will start his job at VER today.

British Airways – The airline has refused to renew the contract of Paul Spencer, chairman at both of its pension funds, due to a disagreement over investment policy, according to a source close to the trustee board. Spencer had been chair of the £11.7bn (€16.6bn) New Airways Pension Scheme and the £7.3bn Airways Pension Scheme since 2010. The industry veteran also chairs the £40bn BT Pension Scheme and the Rolls-Royce Pension Scheme.

UK Pensions Infrastructure Platform – The PIP has made two senior hires – Ed Wilson as investment director and Paula Burgess as COO – as it looks to speed up the process of becoming an approved investor. Wilson joins from Lloyds Banking Group, where he was in the commercial banking arm. Burgess was head of assurance at CCLA, the Church of England’s investment and property management company.

Impax Asset Management Group – Sally Bridgeland and Lindsey Brace Martinez have been appointed as non-executive directors. Mark White, who has served on the board since 2008, is stepping down to fulfil “other commitments”. Bridgeland is a non-executive director at Royal London and trustee of the Lloyds Bank No 1 and No 2 Pension Schemes, as well as at NEST Corporation. Brace Martinez most recently served as managing director of global client service and relations at Cambridge Associates.

Schroders – Chris Hsia has been appointed product manager for MAPS. He joins from Morgan Stanley, where he was most recently CIO for Bank Morgan Stanley AG. Separately, Mei Huang has been appointed as a quantitative analyst. She joins from the global equities research division of HSBC Asset Management.

Neptune Investment Management – Valentine Bugeja has been appointed head of Switzerland. He joins from M&G Investments, where he was sales manager. Bugeja will have overall responsibility for growing Neptune’s business in Switzerland and will be based in Geneva.

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