EUROPE - Pranay Gupta, head of global quantitative strategies - capital markets at ABP Investments, has become the latest figure from the Dutch pension giant to join the Pearl Group.

Gupta left ABP "a few months ago", ABP confirmed to IPE. A Pearl spokeswoman confirmed that Gupta had joined but refused to comment further. IPE understands that he has been appointed deputy CIO, thus reporting to his former colleague Jan Straatman.

Pearl is entrepreneur Hugh Osmond's UK-based life assurance fund investment vehicle. It specialises in buying closed life funds and was bought out from Henderson Global Investors in 2004.

Straatman, the former capital markets CIO at ABP, resigned in November 2005 to become Pearl's CIO.
 
And in March this year, Erna Boogaard quit as ABP Investments' fundamental stock selection fund manager to become external management head at Pearl.

Pearl comprises Pearl, NPI and London Life. It has more than 2m customers and manages £30bn of assets.