Peter Branner Hired to Assume CIO Role at Abrdn

Peter Branner

Peter Branner will join Abrdn, the £508.4 billion ($625.18 billion) asset manager, as CIO on May 1, according to a press release. Branner will report to Chris Demetriou and Rene Buehlmann, Abrdn co-CEOs of investments..

Abrdn’s previous CIO, Rod Paris, retired at the end of 2021, and the company operated without a CIO in 2022.

Branner’s hiring is a continued effort bythe firm which rebranded from Standard Life Aberdeen plc in 2021 following the 2017 merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management, to “re-shape the investments vector,” according to the release. “By moving away from operating across a broad waterfront, the business is placing more emphasis on its core strengths, simplifying the product offering, increasing efficiency, and improving investment performance. Branner will ensure that we build a culture of innovation, learning and continuous improvement across our global investment teams.”

Branner joins Abrdn from Denmark’s APG Asset Management, one of the largest global pension investors in Europe, where as CIO he had been responsible for investment leadership and oversight of public and private markets.

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“I am delighted to be joining abrdn at such an important time. Having led different teams and offerings over the years I am familiar with the scale of the ambition that abrdn has,” Branner said in the press release. “The opportunity to help build a business that meets the needs of modern investors, aims for world-class performance, and cuts out complexity, is a hugely exciting prospect.”

Prior to APG, Branner had served as CEO and CIO of Swedish SEB Investment Management in Stockholm, where he was responsible for the overall investment process at the firm and its broad range of funds and institutional mandates. He also served as CIO at Fortis Investments’ multi-management division in London and managing director of Ikano Fund Management in Luxembourg.

“Peter’s experience will be fundamental in driving performance, further modernizing our investment approaches, and implementing future-fit investment technologies,” Buehlmann said in the press release. “Having led investment teams at asset managers and asset owners, Peter is ideally suited to work with our asset class heads and the broader leadership team to develop client-led investment propositions.”