Close Brothers, Kempen, Mercer, Veritas, L&G, Lazard, Unison, UKSIF, VBV

UK Sustainable Investment and Finance Association (UKSIF)Jason Mitchell, head of responsible investment research at Man Group, has been appointed the new chair of UKSIF.

The UKSIF’s chair is a key individual within the organisation who fulfils a leadership role on the board and works closely with the CEO to ensure that the board’s decisions are implemented and that the organisation’s strategic goals are met.

CEO James Alexander said: “Jason is a hugely respected thought leader on sustainable finance and investment, and will bring enormous expertise to the organisation and our membership. I’m looking forward to working closely with Jason and the whole board to advance UKSIF’s mission and drive forward the financial services industry’s role in advancing the UK’s sustainable future.”


UNISON Staff Pensions Scheme – The pension fund which has more than 1.3 million members working in the public sector, private, voluntary and community sectors and in the energy services, is looking to hire a staff pensions manager within its finance department.

The fund is currently seeking a “highly motivated and dynamic individual who will be involved and able to show demonstrable experience in all aspects of running the in-house administration of a medium defined benefit occupational pension scheme”, an online advert stated.

The staff pensions unit for the multi-employer scheme is a small team and therefore this post requires a “hands on” approach. The successful applicant will therefore need to become familiar with the detail of the work carried out by other members of the team.

For further information and to apply, please visit the fund’s website.


Legal & General – the firm has announced the appointment of Tegs Harding as a new trustee and chair of the investment committee for the L&G Mastertrust, following a full market review.

Harding is a professional trustee at Independent Trustee Services (ITS), as well as a qualified actuary with more than 15 years of experience in the finance industry. She has previously worked in roles across investment consulting, asset management and retail banking.

As a member of the Association of Professional Pension Trustees (APPT) committee on ESG and climate change, Harding has worked with several schemes to help implement net zero targets across the industry. Her role at the APPT includes liaising with the Department for Work and Pensions and The Pensions Regulator on ESG issues, implementing a training programme for members and raising awareness of best practice within the association.

Having worked on schemes with large assets across a range of industries – implementing ESG policies as well as designing and implementing changes in investment strategies – Harding will bring her strong technical expertise and independent support to all aspects of the investment process across the L&G Mastertrust.

She replaces Catherine Redmond of BESTrustees Limited, who is stepping down from the board and her role as chair of the investment committee at the end of this calendar year, after serving the L&G Mastertrust as a trustee for the past three years.


VeritasHeikki Palmu has been appointed as the new head of real estate at Finnish pension insurance company Veritas, and has taken over from Peter Karlsson, who retired at the end of November.

Palmu has joined from Castellum, where he was in charge of managing the Swedish company’s real estate assets in Finland. Karlsson has headed up the Turku-headquartered pension firm’s property operation for a long time, having joined what was then called Verdandi in September 1998 as head of real estate.


MercerPhilip Parkinson has been named as Mercer’s new investments and retirement leader in the UK, effective from 1 January 2023, subject to Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) approval.

Parkinson joins Mercer’s UK leadership team and will oversee Mercer UK’s investments and retirement business strategy across defined benefit (DB) pensions, defined contribution (DC) pensions, and other growing segments such as financial institutions and endowments and foundations. Parkinson takes over from Benoit Hudon, who will concentrate on his role as president and CEO of Mercer UK. 

Parkinson has held various roles at Mercer, in the UK and abroad, most recently leading the DC segment of Mercer’s UK wealth business, including both consulting and product solutions.


Ron Temple at Lazard

Ronald Temple, Lazard

LazardRonald Temple has been named chief market strategist at Lazard. In this newly-created role, Temple will serve as a market strategist and thought leader to Lazard’s asset management and financial advisory businesses and will work closely with the firm’s new geopolitical advisory group.

He will continue to provide macroeconomic and market perspectives to asset management’s global client base and to its investment teams on a firm-wide basis.

Since joining Lazard in 2001, Temple has held several high-profile investment and client-facing roles, including analyst and co-director of global research. Most recently, he has overseen US equity and global equity strategies as well as Lazard’s multi-asset platform.

Prior to Lazard, Temple spent 10 years in a variety of financial services roles, including fixed income derivatives trading, risk management, corporate finance, and corporate strategy.


Kempen Capital Management – The investment management arm of Van Lanschot Kempen has appointed Chris Windeatt as director to its UK distribution team where he will focus on the institutional market.

The appointment reflects Van Lanschot Kempen’s continued ambition to the UK by strengthening the existing business development team and supporting Van Lanschot Kempen’s intention to expand its product offering and position within the UK market.

In his new role, Windeatt will be responsible for the business development of the Van Lanschot Kempen investment expertise to consultants and professional investors in the UK. Based in the London office he will report to Loes Wingens, head of investment strategies sales, wholesale and institutional clients.

Windeatt joins from Cambridge Associates where he was associate director, business development. He has more thna 16 years of experience in financial services, having held positions at companies including BlackRock, Legal & General Investment Management, and AK Jensen Group.


VBV Group – The Austrian occupational pension provider, managing a Pensionskasse and a Vorsorgekasse, has reshuffled its management team. Clemens Buchmayer has taken over the sales and customer service department in the provident fund Vorsorgekasse. Buchmayer was deputy head of department since 2020.

Rudolf Glotz will lead the administration department of VBV Pensionskasse from 1 January 2023. The department is split into four teams catering for almost 300,000 beneficiaries and responsible for more than 5,000 pension fund member contracts.

Rudolf Greinix has taken over responsibility for customer communication at VBV Pensionskasse, on top of managing the marketing and public relations departments for the entire VBV Group. Greinix has more than 20 years of experience in senior communications roles.


BMW – The German carmaker has appointed Monika Hennersberger as the new person responsible for company pension schemes, starting in the role at the beginning of December.

Hennersberger takes over the post from Wolfgang Degel, who is now working as a self-employed consultant on company pension schemes, according to reports. Hennersberger has worked in the human resources department of the BMW group since 2017 and is responsible for old-age provision and retirement.


Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM)John Hair and Charles Insley have joined as investment directors within CBAM’s Bespoke Investment Management team. Based in London, the duo will be responsible for managing key relationships with CBAM’s Bespoke clients.

With over 28 years of experience in financial services, Hair joins from abrdn, where he was chief investment officer of its private client business. He began his career with Henderson, before moving to Newton in 2002, where he managed private client portfolios and later became head of investments for private clients. Hair has deep investment management experience, and strong, long-term relationships with clients.

Insley also joins from abrdn, where he was head of international private clients. He has more than 25 years of experience in financial services, both in investment management and working with private clients.

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