People moves: Alecta names head of asset management

Alecta – Magnus Tell has been appointed permanent head of asset management at Alecta as of 1 November 2026. He has been acting head of asset management since Pablo Bernengo left the role to become the new chief executive officer of Alecta on 1 September 2026.

Since 2023, Tell has been head of equities at Alecta and prior to that was head of equities at the Third Swedish National Pension Fund (AP3), head of equity strategy at ABG Sundal Collier in Stockholm, and manager and strategist at Deutsche Bank and Arrowgrass Capital Partners in London and New York.

“Magnus has extensive experience of asset management in all asset classes and of allocation between them. He is also well acquainted with Alecta and has been a driving force in developing and strengthening our equity management in recent years,” Bernengo said.

LGT Capital Partners – As part of its long-term succession planning, the firm announced that Sascha Gruber will succeed Roberto Paganoni as CEO on 1 January 2027, subject to regulatory approval.

Paganoni, who has led the firm since its establishment in 1998, will become a member of LGT Capital Partners’ group holding board.

Gruber joined LGT Capital Partners in 2002 and has since assumed broad leadership responsibilities, serving on the executive committee and on various investment committees for many years. A key contributor to the development of the firm’s private markets business and in particular its secondaries strategy, he combines a strong investment background with broad strategic experience, the firm stated.

Beyond his investment responsibilities, Gruber has played a leading role in expanding the firm’s international business and building its presence in the Americas.

Over nearly three decades, Paganoni has shaped LGT Capital Partners’ long-term strategy and business philosophy. Under his leadership, the firm has developed into a global alternative investment manager with a diversified investment platform, more than $120bn in assets under management, an international client base of more than 750 institutional investors and a global team of around 1,000 professionals across 16 offices. Today, the firm invests across private markets, multi-alternatives and diversifying strategies, complemented by sustainable and impact strategies.

TPT Investment Management (TPTIM) – The investment management arm of TPT Retirement Solutions has appointed Peter Smith as chief investment officer.

Smith will also become a member of the TPT Retirement Solutions (TPT RSL) Group executive, in addition to joining the board of TPTIM. He will report to David Lane, chief executive officer.

The appointment comes as TPT has successfully cleared regulatory assessment for its defined benefit superfund and is working towards authorisation as the UK’s first multi-employer collective defined contribution (CDC) scheme.

Smith joined TPT in October 2008 and has played a key role in the development and growth of TPT’s fiduciary management unit. More recently, he has held a central leadership position in establishing its current model of fund management and developing the investment management capability which supports all of TPT’s propositions.

Mike Balfour, chair of TPTIM, has reached the end of his agreed term in September 2026. Anna Troup will succeed him as the new independent chair of TPTIM and non-executive director on the TPT RSL board. Nicholas Clapp will remain a member of the TPTIM board.

Impax Asset Management – The asset manager has made two appointments to its listed equities team. Paul Byrne joins as head of portfolio advisory, systematic investments, and Sebastien Bidault joins as director, associate portfolio manager and global technology analyst. Both are based in London.

Byrne joins from BNY Investments Newton, where he spent more than 15 years across quantitative research, portfolio construction, investment risk management and portfolio management. Most recently, he was responsible for quantitative research and portfolio construction alongside managing thematic, multi-asset and small-cap strategies.

In his new role, Byrne will lead portfolio risk advisory within Impax’s fundamental equities process, while also acting as a portfolio manager for Impax’s growing range of systematic equities strategies.

Bidault joins Impax from Redwheel, where he was co-portfolio manager of the Redwheel Biodiversity and Redwheel Clean Economy funds. He brings more than 20 years of global equity investment and research experience, with particular expertise across environmental markets and the technology sector.

At Impax, Bidault will focus on technology research and provide direct portfolio management support to Impax’s environmental markets equities strategies, including the Leaders strategy.

Varma – Heikki Ilkka has been appointed as Varma’s chief financial officer and member of the management team as of 1 April 2027. He will start at Varma on 1 March 2027 and report to chief executive officer Risto Murto.

Varma’s current CFO, Pekka Pajamo, will move to a role as management advisor on 1 April 2027 and retire on 1 September 2027, the firm announced.

Ilkka joins from LocalTapiola Life Insurance Company, where he is the firm’s CFO.

Aberdeen Investments – The firm has appointed Becky Nichols as head of global and alternative consultant partnerships, a newly created role designed to deepen relationships with the firm’s most strategically important global and alternative consultant firms.

Nichols joined the company 16 years ago and has held a range of distribution, product and corporate leadership roles across the UK and US. Prior to joining the company, she worked as an investment consultant, bringing first-hand experience of the sector.

The appointment reflects Aberdeen’s evolving approach to consultant engagement, building on the success of its Global Financial Institutions model, which combines strong regional coverage with dedicated global leadership focused on executive engagement, strategic partnerships and enterprise-wide coordination.

Standard Life – Uzma Nazir has been appointed to the newly created role of senior director, head of PRT origination within Standard Life’s pension risk transfer (PRT) business, as it continues to strengthen its capabilities in the growing risk transfer market.

Nazir brings two decades of industry experience, having served on the leadership team that launched Blumont Annuity after spending most of her career at Pension Insurance Corporation, where she held a variety of roles.

The appointment follows a busy period for Standard Life’s PRT business with £1.6bn of deals written in the first half of the year as well as the launch of its new UK PRT partnership in August.

Additionally, Standard Life is expanding the team with new roles to increase capacity across key areas of the business. This will also include a new role, focusing on client proposition strategy and member innovation, working closely with the firm’s client services team.

Fasanara Capital – The technology-led global alternative asset manager has ppointed Stefano Blotto as senior advisor to the CEO, global strategic relationships. He will also join the firm’s advisory board.

Based in London, Blotto will work closely with Fasanara founder and CEO Francesco Filia and the wider leadership team, supporting the firm’s engagement with strategic institutional relationships globally as the firm continues to expand its international investor base and investment platform.

Blotto brings more than 35 years of experience in international banking spanning senior relationship management, institutional sales, fixed income and financial technology. Most recently, he spent 15 years at BNP Paribas in London, where he led firmwide senior coverage for the world’s largest asset managers, hedge funds, pension funds and other investors globally.