GMO Appoints New CEO from QMA | Chief Investment Officer

Scott Hayward, CEO, GMOGrantham, Mayo, Van Otterloo & Co. (GMO) has a new CEO and a new focus for 2017: climate change.

Scott Hayward will lead the value investing-focused firm effective February 13, 2017, the firm said Monday. He joins from QMA (Quantitative Management Associates), and replaces current interim CEO Peg McGretrick.

“He is a strong cultural fit for us and comes with a long track record of delivering investment excellence and innovation,” McGetrick said in a statement.

Hayward spent 13 years with QMA, a Prudential subsidiary, serving as CEO for 11 of them. Previously, he was executive vice president of Jennison Associates and managing director of JP Morgan.

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“GMO is an iconic, world-class investment manager with an exceptional history of investment thought leadership and independence,” Hayward said. “I look forward to working with such an accomplished team to bring the best of GMO’s fundamental and quantitative capabilities to bear on behalf of our clients.”

The Boston-based firm also hired Andy Martin, who most recently served as head of global hedge fund research for Cambridge Associates, to the newly created position of head of investment teams.

Martin boasts an extensive background in equity research, with time spent at Credit Suisse First Boston and Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette prior to his 10-year tenure at Cambridge.

GMO said it will further turn its attention on strategies focused on climate change, with its founder and legendary investor Jeremy Grantham stating “global warming will be the most important investment issue for the foreseeable future.”

“GMO has been doing fundamental research on investment implications and opportunities relating to environmental factors for years,” Arjun Divecha, GMO partner and chairman, said, “We are confident that now is the time to partner with our clients and provide investment solutions.”

Abu Dhabi has merged two of its sovereign wealth funds to form a new investment group, Mubadala Investment Company.

According to United Arab Emirates news agency WAM, the new sovereign fund combines Mubadala Development Company and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC).

The joint venture will “run operations in acquisition, development, construction, financing, operation, and investment in various sectors,” the government said.

The Mubadala Development Company has $63.5 billion in assets under management, its website said. While IPIC’s size is unclear, Reuters reported the newly merged entity will manage a total of $125 billion.

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The Abu Dhabi government also named Mubadala Development’s current group CEO Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak to run the new sovereign fund, according to WAM.

A resolution for the merger was first announced in June 2016, when the government said “integrating the two entities would create greater benefits and enhanced economic value to the Government of Abu Dhabi,” according to a WAM report.

“The combined entity will realize synergies and growth in multiple sectors including the energy and utilities sector, technology, aerospace, industry, health care, real estate, and financial investments,” the Emirates said. “It will also have the ability to contribute more significantly to the diversification of the economy, in line with the Abu Dhabi plan and the country’s long-term vision.”