The UK wealth management group has named Alan Mathewson as chief executive.

This move follows the planned restructuring of Verso’s executive team to support the next phase of its strategic growth plan.

Mathewson was previously chief executive of private bank Brown Shipley.

Verso co-founders Andrew Fay and Simon Redgrove will continue to be actively involved, leading the firm’s distribution and acquisition strategy as members of the Verso group board.

Fiera Capital

The asset manager has named Klaus Schuster as executive director and chief executive for Europe, Middle East and Africa.

In his most recent role, Schuster acted as chief executive for EMEA and global head of wealth management distribution at Pinebridge Investments.

Julius Baer

The wealth manager has bolstered its Basel branch with a couple of hires.

Gabriele Klass has joined the bank as a relationship manager, André Giehl will take over as head of a local high net worth relationship manager team, and Salvatore Cuppuleri will be a relationship manager.

Klass joins Julius Baer from Basler Kantonalbank, where she had worked for the past four years in private banking as a relationship manager.  Giehl had worked for Credit Suisse for around 13 years, mainly in Basel, including eleven years as a client adviser.

Cuppuleri was a client adviser in private banking at Credit Suisse.

Canada Life

The insurance giant has appointed Tom Evans to the position of managing director of retirement.

He was named interim managing director of retirement in Autumn 2022, subsequent to a tenure as managing director of home finance.

Oberon Investments

Harry Finster has joined the investment firm as investment manager.

He left his role as a portfolio manager at Atomos Wealth.

Capital Group

The asset manager has hired Angela Jin as the head of financial intermediaries in Hong Kong.

Before joining Capital Group, Jin held various roles in the banking and finance industry.

She was most recently the head of private banking at Pimco, where she spent eight years building the firm’s wealth management business in north Asia.

Lumera

The life and pensions fintech firm has appointed Kerstin Hessius to its board of directors.

Hessius is the former chief executive of the Third Swedish National Pension Fund (AP3), a position she held for 18 years until the end of 2022.

The fund is a part of the Capital Group American Balanced strategy, which was initially incepted in 1975 with assets under management of around $196.3bn (£156bn, €177bn) as of end March.

It aims to take a balanced approach to both growth and income and currently invests between 50% and 75% in equities. The remaining fixed income portion generally invests in investment grade bonds, according to the fund factsheet.

The fund is managed by 12 fund managers, with an average investment experience of 28 years and 22 years with the asset manager. As of end of March, the fund now holds 53.5% in US equities, 29.0% in US bonds, 7.6% in non-US equities, 6.5% in cash and equivalents and 3.4% in non-US bonds.

“Managed by an experienced investment team, this fund strives to deliver a balance of growth, income and capital conservation, helping clients navigate various market changes and achieve long-term investment returns,” said Joyce Leung, assistant general manager for personal digital banking product department at BOCHK.

Toby Chan, head of client group Hong Kong and Greater China at Capital Group, added: “We are delighted to team up with BOCHK to bring one of the largest and most established US multi-asset strategies to investors in Hong Kong. BOCHK has the largest branch network, diversified service channels and extensive experience in supporting clients in their wealth management and investment journeys.”

Capital Group has $464.5bn in asset under management in multi-asset funds and manages three of the four largest multi-asset funds in the world. It has had a presence in Asia for the last 40 years and has offices in Sydney, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Mumbai.

For more insight on asset and wealth management in Asia, please click on www.fundselectorasia.com

The regulator has appointed Kenneth Farrugia as chief executive, with effect from 12 April 2023.

Farrugia was previously director general at the Internal Audit and Investigations Department (IAID) and as director of the Financial Intelligence Analysis Unit (FIAU).

He takes over from Michelle Buontempo, who held the position of acting chief executive for the past months.

Nomura

The banking group has appointed Rudolf Hitsch as head of north Asia for its international wealth management business.

In this newly created role, Hitsch will be based in Hong Kong and responsible for international wealth management’s client relationship management teams covering north Asia.

Hitsch was head of north Asia at Citi Private Bank.

Marlborough

The DFM firm has named Danny Knight as commercial director and Nathan Sweeney as chief investment officer of multi-asset.

Knight will have an initial focus on further strengthening Marlborough’s multi-asset investment proposition for financial advisers in the UK and internationally.

He joins from Quilter Investors, where he was a director of multi-asset and latterly head of investment proposition.

Sweeney’s appointment follows the promotion of Sheldon MacDonald to chief investment officer in January.

He joined Marlborough as deputy chief investment officer of multi-asset in 2021.

Capital Group

The asset manager has hired Arne Toelsner as head of client group for Germany, Switzerland, and Austria, effective immediately.

He was most recently as head of distribution for Germany, Switzerland, and Austria at Allianz Global Investors.

O-IM

The investment manager has named Tom Hind as a business development director.

Hind joins O-IM from Stellar Asset Management.

Reyl Intesa Sanpaolo

The banking group has appointed Richard Albrecht as head of wealth management.

Prior to joining Reyl Intesa Sanpaolo, he was head of French-speaking Switzerland as a member of the WM European committee at Deutsche Bank.

Evelyn Partners

The wealth management and professional services group has bolstered its Edinburgh office with the appointment of Duncan Arthur as financial planning director.

He joins from Blackadders Wealth Management in Dundee where he was director of financial planning.

Impax Asset Management

The specialist asset manager has appointed Matt Carter as director of UK intermediary distribution.

He joins Impax from Sarasin & Partners, where he was responsible for the distribution of thematic funds and outsourced investment solutions to financial intermediaries.

Calton Wealth Management

The wealth manager has named Laura Bruce as a non-executive director and Trevor Mitchell as an IFA.

Bruce brings a wealth of experience in financial services, including with the wealth management and private client teams at Barclays and Bank of Scotland.

Mitchell joins CWM from GRC Financial.

Dimensional Fund Advisors

The global investment firm has strengthened its team in northern Europe.

Kevin Hudson-Phillips, a 12-year veteran of Dimensional’s London-based global client group, has transferred to the firm’s Amsterdam office to work with investors in the Nordic and Benelux regions.

He is a regional director and vice president.

Atomos

The wealth manager has appointed Jon Taylor as chair, taking over from Alison Endemano.

Taylor previously sat on the wealth manager’s board as a non-executive director. Endemano had been chair since Oaktree Capital Management invested in Atomos in May 2022.

He has held several senior management roles within financial services including being chief executive of both Ascentric and Co-operative Insurance.

Guinness Global Investors

Tom Pearson has joined the investment firm as sales director for the southwest of England.

Before joining Guinness, Pearson was regional sales director at Crux Asset Management for five years.

STM Group

The cross-border financial services provider has announced Graham Kettleborough has tendered his resignation as a non-executive director of the company and as chair of the group’s UK subsidiary companies.

The resignation will take effect from 28 April 2023.

Chief investment officer Nicholas Cooling will retire from the firm in May 2023 after more than 30 years with the business.

Sheldon MacDonald will take over, after joining the company in October 2021 as chief investment officer of multi-asset from Liontrust where he held several senior investment roles.

His appointment has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

L&G

Chief executive Nigel Wilson is set to retire after serving in the role for more than a decade.

He joined Legal & General as chief financial officer in 2009 and was then promoted in 2012.

Wilson will continue working until a successor is found.

Quilter

Priti Verma will become chief risk officer at Quilter in Q2 2023.

Most recently she was at Brooks Macdonald where she held a similar role.

Verma will succeed Matt Burton who had to step back in 2022 due to ill health.

Capital Group

The investment management giant has shaken up its senior management team.

Tim Armour, chairman and chief executive, and Robe Lovelace, vice-chair and president, will step down in October 2023.

As a result, Mike Gitlin will become president and chief executive, Martin Romo will take on the role of chairman and chief investment officer, and Jody Jonsson will become vice-chair of Capital Group and continue working as president of Capital Research Management Company.

The appointment will be effective from 24 October 2023.

Fidelity International

The UK-based investment firm has promoted Dennis Pellerito to head of UK wholesale.

He has been with the company for a decade and was most recently director of the UK strategic account team.

Pellerito succeeds John Clougherty who will handover his responsibilities in March 2023 and retire in September.

Julius Baer

Sacha Bodenehr will become market head of Geneva as well as branch manager, effective from 1 February 2023.

He has held the roles in an interim basis so far, and has been with Julius Baer since 2003 in several roles including head CEO office, chief of staff (French-speaking Switzerland) and head of strategic projects for Europe.

BNP Paribas AM

The French asset manager has hired Daniel Choong as chief executive of its Malaysia operation, subject to regulatory approval.

He succeeds Angelia Chin-Sharpe who became Singapore chief executive and relocated to the Lion City in August 2022.

Choong joins from Abrdn where he served as head of distribution in Malaysia.

Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Conduct Authority has re-appointed baroness Zahida Manzoor as chair of the FOS, approved by the Treasury.

She has been in the role since August 2019 and will continue until August 2025.

MSI is a Luxembourg-domiciled Ucits fund and will combine four key fixed income sectors: investment-grade corporate bonds, high-yield corporate bonds, emerging market bonds and securitised credit.

These will be put together in a single portfolio, designed to provide a high level of current income and capital appreciation to qualified and professional investors.

UBS GWM will look after the distribution side of the partnership, targeting investors in Europe and Asia – including UK, Germany, Switzerland, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Singapore.

The exclusive launch partnership will last until 31 March 2023.

Mike Gitlin, head of fixed income at Capital Group, said: “We are delighted to partner with UBS GWM, the world’s largest wealth manager, to distribute the Capital Group Multi-Sector Income Fund (LUX) (MSI) to investors in Europe and Asia. We believe our new multi-sector income fund, offering a mix of high quality and higher yielding assets, is particularly compelling in the current market environment.

“MSI combines the power of four fixed income sectors to target reliable income in different market conditions. Against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, the ability to find reliable sources of income has become increasingly important for investors. Through our partnership with UBS GWM, we look forward to bringing the strength, breadth and depth of Capital Group’s fixed income business to UBS investors globally.”

Bruno Marxer, head global investment management at UBS GWM, added: “We are pleased to team up with such an esteemed partner and offer our clients prime access to this unique and differentiated strategy. Earning more predictable returns from income strategies is particularly appealing amid ongoing market volatility, making this a timely addition to our overall offering.”