GLOBAL – Northern Trust Global Investments has named Stephen Dowds as head of international equities, a role vacant since the departure of Andrew Perry around 18 months ago.

The firm said Dowds would oversee NTGI’s more than one billion-dollar non-US active equities business. He will report to Barry Sagraves, chief executive of NTGI in Europe and to Orie Dudley, NTGI’s Chicago-based global chief investment officer.

Dowds joins Prudential Bache International’s Dryden Capital Management, where he was CIO.

Sagraves said Dowds would help to extend NTGI’s global product out of London, “hopefully in the next year”. He added that assets run out of London rose 77% in 2003 and are now at 13 billion dollars.

Dowds said: “My decision to join Northern Trust Global Investments was based on many factors, not least the quality of the team in place and the successful philosophy, process and track record they have developed.”