(January 15, 2013) — One of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds has appointed a former AllianceBernstein portfolio manager to oversee its direct equity investments in global markets.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has hired Gregory Eckersley as global head of internal equities, the fund announced today.
He will report to the department’s executive director, Mohamed Darwish Al Khoori, and will lead the internal equities department, which takes direct stakes in global companies rather than use external fund managers, ADIA said.
The fund can invest between 45% and 65% of its entire assets in developed and emerging market equities, according to the 2011 ADIA annual report. The SWF does not release its asset values, but latest estimates put funds at $627 billion. The report does not detail the percentage split of internally and externally-managed equities.
The new recruit joins from Capital Partners, a fund he launched in 2011 after spending 16 years at global asset manager AllianceBernstein. During the last five years of his tenure he managed the company’s Global and Large Cap Growth Equity portfolios based in New York. Previously he had established and led the firm’s South Africa business as CEO and CIO for Alliance Capital Management in Cape Town.
In October, ADIA announced it had brought Colm Lanigan on board as head of principal investments in its private equities department. Lanigan’s role was newly created and saw him with a potential portfolio of up to $50 billion.
For a profile of ADIA’s CIO Jean-Paul Villain in aiCIO‘s Power 100 list, click here.