ThomasLloyd, Nedgroup Investments, Neuberger Berman, Folketrygdfondet, Vasakronan, IIMI, Man Group

Man GroupRobyn Grew will be appointed as the next chief executive officer of Man Group as Luke Ellis informed the firm’s board of his decision to retire.

Grew is currently president of Man Group and a member of the senior executive committee based in the US. She has significant operational and financial services experience as well as a strong track record of demonstrating strategic vision and leadership.

During her 14 years at Man Group, Grew has managed the solutions business, overseen trading and execution as well as acted as group chief operating officer, head of ESG and general counsel. Her wide-ranging responsibilities, spanning from investment divisions, risk and technology to legal, infrastructure and operations, have provided her with broad experience and a deep understanding of the business.

Grew has been integral to the firm’s global strategic expansion and oversaw the reorganisation of Man Group’s corporate structure in 2019 to better align it with the global footprint of the business. She has also spearheaded the firm’s diversity programme, Drive.

Grew will take over from Ellis as CEO as of 1 September 2023, at which time she will also join the Man Group board as an executive director. While she will relocate to the UK following her appointment, she will continue to spend a substantial proportion of her time in the US, given the firm’s presence there.


Independent Investment Management Initiative (IIMI) – The boutique asset management think tank has appointed Dani Hristova as its new CEO. The appointment follows the engagement of seven new board members as well as a new chair, Sebastian Stewart, earlier this year, deepening the value that the IIMI can bring to its membership.

In her new position, Hristova will work closely with Stewart and the board to deliver on the IIMI’s refreshed core aims – which includes promoting the strengths of boutique asset managers and helping to shape the industry’s regulatory environment – as well as facilitating commercial opportunities for its growing membership base.

Hristova joins from Nordea Asset Management, where she was responsible for building the firm’s presence in the UK insurance market. This involved developing Nordea’s entry strategy into the insurance sector, as well as representing Nordea within the insurance market more broadly. She previously held positions at Schroders Investment Management and Legal and General Investment Management.


Folketrygdfondet – The Norwegian Ministry of Finance has appointed Morten Borge as a new member of the board of Folketrygdfondet, the manager of the Government Pension Fund Norway (GPFN), the domestic and Nordic investment part of the country’s sovereign wealth fund. Borge’s appointment is for a four-year term.

Meanwhile, Einar Westby, a former partner and board chair of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Norway, is stepping down from Folketrygdfondet’s board from 16 May, as is permanent deputy representative Trond Døskeland, professor at the Norwegian School of Economics, according to the ministry.


Fekko Ebbens at Neuberger Berman

Fekko Ebbens at Neuberger Berman

Neuberger BermanFekko Ebbens has been hired for the newly-created role of head of institutional Benelux at Neuberger Berman.

With more than 27 years of experience, Ebbens joins from UBS Asset Management, where he was most recently global head of institutional client coverage. Prior to this, he covered institutional business development at Lombard Odier Darier Hentsch.

Reporting to Matt Malloy, head of global institutional client group, and Dik van Lomwel, head of EMEA and Latin America, Ebbens will be based in the Hague alongside 40 asset management professionals, including the client coverage, emerging market debt, European private loans and global sustainable equity investment teams.

Cas Peters, current head of Benelux, will step into a senior advisor role and will continue to provide guidance to Neuberger Berman’s clients in the region.


Nedgroup Investments – The firm is launching an in-house multi-boutique platform which will feature a growing range of active investment strategies characterised by deep alignment of client and fund manager interests and has appointed two fixed income experts to run an active global bond fund as the first launch of these in-house managed strategies.

Tom Caddick, managing director of Nedgroup Investments (International), said: “It’s harder for boutiques to set up now because of the onerous regulatory requirements and the difficulty of raising sufficient capital. We want to facilitate start-up boutiques to better serve the needs of our clients and provide a wider range of investment opportunity.”

David Roberts and Alex Ralph will run the new global bond fund.

Roberts is a fixed income investor with more than 30 years of experience. He is known for his ‘skin in the game’ investment style and was previously head of fixed income at Liontrust until early 2022. Previously, he was a fund manager with Aegon Asset Management (formerly Kames Capital).

Ralph is a fixed income fund manager with over two decades of experience in the industry. She was most recently a partner at Artemis Investment Management where she helped set up the bond desk launching the strategic bond fund in 2005.


ThomasLloyd – The independent impact investment solutions provider, advisor and asset manager has appointed Duncan Black, former managing director of Asia Infrastructure Advisors, as its new head of portfolio and asset management.

Based in Singapore, Black will report directly to the recently appointed chief investment officer Nadir Maruf, and strengthens the firm’s senior leadership team. At ThomasLloyd, he will drive the firm’s rapid expansion of institutional investments in renewable energy infrastructure projects across Asia.

Black will lead the ongoing monitoring and assessment of portfolio performance through the whole life cycle of assets acquired at the development, construction, and operational stages. He will also drive the creation and implementation of the firm’s value creation and long-term asset management strategy. Additionally, he will oversee and implement the risk management strategy for all assets in the portfolio.

In his previous role as managing director for Asia Infrastructure Investors, Black advised renewable energy businesses in Asia on greenfield development, M&A, financing, and asset management.


VasakronanStaffan Hansén, CEO of Swedish national pensions buffer fund AP3, has been elected as a member of the board of Vasakronan – the Swedish property company equally owned by AP3 and the other main buffer funds AP1, AP2 and AP4.

Hansén replaces Pablo Bernengo, CIO of AP3 on Vasakronan’s board.

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