People Moves Roundup | Chief Investment Officer

MSCI appoints Simone Bouch as Head of Australia & New Zealand Client Coverage

MSCI has appointed Simone Bouch as Head of Australia and New Zealand Client Coverage. Based in Sydney, Bouch is responsible for building upon MSCI’s presence in Australia and New Zealand across all product lines—Index, Analytics, ESG, and Real Estate—while also enhancing coverage of leading asset owners and other clients. Simone reports to Jack Lin, head of APAC client coverage. Simone was most recently head of distribution for Australasia for Aberdeen Standard Investments.

“Simone brings a breadth and depth of expertise to the Australia and New Zealand client coverage team, to ensure MSCI supports our growing client base as they continue their adoption of ESG in their investment and portfolio management decisions,” said Lin.

Vontobel Asset Management Strengthens Institutional Footprint in North America

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Vontobel Asset Management appointed Jeff Barrow and Brian Engel as relationship managers leading the Southeast and Midwest regions, respectively

Barrow joins from DiMeo Schneider & Associates, where he led the firm’s regional consulting and new business efforts. Engel joins from BMO Global Asset Management, where he was responsible for expanding the distribution of solutions to institutional investors in the Midwest. They will report to Amit Mukadam, head of North America institutional distribution.

In addition to the Quality Growth Boutique, Vontobel Asset Management’s North American platform includes quality fixed income solutions from TwentyFour Asset Management.

“The enhanced distribution platform lays the groundwork to introduce additional solutions,” said Thomas Wittwer, chief executive officer North America.

Bardin Hill Appoints Kevin Silva Global Head of Business Development and Investor Relations

Bardin Hill Investment Partners LP today announced the appointment of Kevin Silva as global head of business development and investor relations.

Silva, who joins the firm as a partner, will focus on expanding the firm’s relationships with investors and will oversee the client relations department.

In October 2018, the firm completed its succession plan, naming the firm’s chief investment officer, Jason Dillow, chief executive officer and announcing a strategic partnership with TPG Sixth Street Partners, as well as additional investments from existing partners of Bardin Hill, Dyal Capital Partners, and the foundation of the firm’s founder, Alan B. Slifka. Last fall, the firm added veteran portfolio manager Phil Raciti as head of US Performing Credit. And in April of this year, Bardin Hill announced six new partners, drawing from the firm’s senior investment and business teams.

Silva joins Bardin Hill from Carlson Capital, L.P., where he led the global business development and investor relations effort. Prior to joining Carlson, Silva was a managing director at Och-Ziff Capital Management Group, where he worked for 12 years and ultimately had oversight responsibility for the firm’s strategic relationships. He began his career at Goldman Sachs & Co. as an associate in the asset management division. Silva earned a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.

Chicago Trading Co. Names Dan Feuser as Next CEO

Chicago Trading Co. (CTC) announced Daniel Feuser as its next CEO.

Dan has been with CTC in a variety of roles in 20 years with the company. Most recently, Dan served as chief strategy officer, where he led the firm’s efforts to evolve its core business and expand into new businesses.

Previously, Feuser served as chief operating officer where he oversaw the Trading, Quant, Technology, and Operations functions of CTC, instilling greater cohesion and financial discipline throughout the firm.

State Street Strengthens Asset Owner Servicing Team with Senior Appointment

State Street Corp. has appointed Rob Baillie as head of its Asset Owner Business team for North America.

Baillie will report to John Lehner, State Street’s head of global services, Americas and its global asset management segment.

Baillie will be responsible for advancing an integrated, strategic partner approach to the firm’s asset owner clients across North America. He will also drive service enhancements and solution development in support of State Street’s pension fund and endowment clients.

Baillie will work closely with Ian Martin, who was appointed global head of State Street’s overall asset owner segment team earlier this year, to ensure clients in North America are receiving the benefits of global best practices, services, insights, and thought leadership.

Western Asset Mortgage Capital, Natixis Add CIOs

Harris Trifon to lead investing for Western Asset’s $436 billion in assets.

Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp., which has $436 billion in assets under management, has named Harris Trifon as chief investment officer and Sean Johnson as deputy CIO, effective May 3.

Trifon currently serves as co-head of mortgage and consumer credit at Western Asset Management Co., LLC, the company’s manager, and has more than 19 years of investment experience. Prior to joining Western Asset in 2014, he served as director of fixed income research with Deutsche Bank, where he was global head of commercial real estate debt and US ABS research teams. From 2006 to 2009, he served as director of structured finance at Standard & Poor’s.

“Harris has been a valuable member of the mortgage and consumer credit team at Western Asset for five years and we look forward to his expertise in leading our investment team,” Jennifer Murphy, CEO of Western Asset Mortgage Capital Corp., said in a release. “His extensive experience managing credit-sensitive assets will be particularly valuable as we continue to increase our exposure to that asset class.”

Trifon has a master’s degree in real estate/finance from New York University, and a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Florida. He is also on the boards of the Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC), and the University of Florida’s Bergstrom Center for Real Estate.

Johnson, a portfolio manager in Western Asset’s mortgage and consumer credit group, recently served as interim co-CIO for the company, and has more than 30 years of investment management experience, spending the last 24 years with Western Asset.

Trifon and Johnson will work with Western Asset’s investment team to manage and source investments for the company.

“Sean has been deeply involved in the strategy and management of the company’s portfolio since its inception,” said Murphy, “and his experience as our interim co-CIO, combined with his many years of experience managing mortgage-related investments, have proven to be invaluable to the company.”

Meanwhile, Natixis Investment Managers, which has assets under management of $924.5 billion, has named Christopher Sharpe to the newly created position of CIO and portfolio manager, multi-asset portfolio solutions. Sharpe will lead the firm’s US-based multi-asset portfolio solutions offering, which includes the Natixis Sustainable Future Funds, which are target-date mutual funds with investments driven by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors.

Prior to Natixis, Sharpe worked at Fidelity Investments, managing more than $225 billion in multi-asset-class mutual funds and institutional accounts. He also previously served as an investment policy officer at John Hancock. Sharpe earned a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics from Brown University.

“Given his extensive background managing various multi-asset-class funds, including in the target date industry, we’re thrilled to have Chris join our team,” Marina Gross, executive vice president at Natixis Advisors, said in a release. “His added leadership and investment experience will play a key role in bolstering new and existing partnerships through our investment solutions capabilities.”

Tags: Bardin Hill, Chicago Trading Co., MSCI, Natixis, People Moves, State Street, Western Asset Mortgage Capital

The Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. is gearing up for one of its most robust investment years yet, with almost $3 billion on the agenda to be allocated towards investments in private markets strategies.

The sovereign wealth fund agreed to invest or commit approximately $1.6 billion under its private equity and special opportunities umbrella, with the flexibility to go over or under the target by $550 million, depending on opportunities.

The team also agreed to engage about $1.3 billion to the private income portfolio, with the flexibility to shoot around the target by $300 million. It’s a bit slower than its FY 2019 target, due to the portfolio’s allocation as a percentage to the overall fund being a bit over target. The two allocations will be spread across fund commitments, direct investments, and the fund’s highly profitable co-investment strategy, which Chief Investment Officer Marcus Frampton explained how he managed to attain a 60% return with CIO a few weeks ago.

“APFC does try to maintain a largely stable deployment pace across private markets year-to-year without really attempting to “time the cycle” on the new deployment side,” Frampton said on the plans.

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Private equity and private incomes are expected to generate annual net returns of approximately 12% and 7.25%, respectively. Growth of the APFC’s private equity exposure is illustrated below:

The fund intends to increase its private equity allocation through direct and co-investments, while at the same time lowering the portfolio’s concentration towards commitments to growth equity funds, and direct ownership stakes in general partnerships.

On the side of its private income exposure, which spans infrastructure, private credit, and income opportunities, the portfolio has grown considerably over the past few years with a particular focus on growth within its infrastructure allocation.

The two pacing plans assume a net growth rate for the fund of about 2% for the next few years.

Frampton recently joined CIO for an informative podcast on the fund’s portfolio and his opinion on today’s market conditions. You can listen to the podcast here.

Tags: Alaska, Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, Private Equity, Sovereign Wealth Fund