UK - WestAM, asset management arm of Westdeutsche Landesbank, is bolstering its global emerging markets team in London with the addition of Richard Fairgreave, Jose Morales and Brian Deacon.

Fairgreave, who has already started at WestAM joins as a global asset manager, covering emerging market equities. Prior to his new position, Fairgreave was employed at Hermes Pensions Management.

Morales joins as head of emerging markets Europe and Asia. Morales formerly worked at HSBC where he managed $450m of EMEA portfolios. He will commence work at WestAM next week. Morales replaces Waj Hashmi who becomes a global asset manager alongside Fairgreave.

Fairgreave and Hashmi replace Darren Read and Mark Thorogood, who have moved into sell side research and retirement respectively.

Deacon will assume the position of product specialist within the team when he joins in November. He replaces Aki Akiwumi Thompson who has moved into a sales role at WestAM. Deacon joins from Gissings and William M Mercer, where he worked as an emerging markets analyst.

All three new hires will report to Allan Conway, global head of emerging markets at WestAM. The new additions take the emerging markets team headcount up to 12.

Explaining the strengthening of the team, Conway says: “emerging markets is an asset class which has outperformed now for over three years, and which still appears extremely attractive relative to most other asset classes.”

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