People moves: Lombard Odier IM, BlackRock, IQ-EQ, Aviva Investors

Lombard Odier Investment Managers
Lombard Odier IM has appointed Chris Vogtherr and Claudia Ziebart to its UK and Ireland institutional sales team. Based in London, they joined the team in January 2021 and report to Ritesh Bamania, head of institutional sales for the UK and Ireland.

The hires coincide with the upcoming launch of innovative sustainability strategies, including credit and tracker plus equity strategies seeking alignment with the Paris Agreement, that the team will be responsible for delivering to corporate and local authority schemes, insurers, endowments, and other institutional clients.

Vogtherr joins LOIM with extensive experience advising institutional clients in the UK. Previously, he served as executive director of International Client Relationships at Quoniam Asset Management. He has also held senior client relationship roles at State Street, Lazard Asset Management and Henderson Global Investors. 

Ziebart joins LOIM from Northern Trust Asset Management, where she was a member of the EMEA Business Development team with a primary focus on the UK and Ireland institutional markets. 

Ritesh Bamania, head of UK & Ireland Institutional Sales, said: "I am delighted that Chris and Claudia have joined LOIM to support the growth of our institutional client base in the UK and Ireland. The appointments reinforce our commitment to serving institutional clients with best-in-class investment solutions, underpinned by our company-wide focus on sustainability.

"Global markets continue to move rapidly, and institutional clients need ongoing support from their investment partners in order to identify the opportunities available, while minimizing the risks that ongoing volatility could pose to their assets. At LOIM we are committed to the development and implementation of innovative products that deliver performance, while remaining embedded in investment strategies that drive positive change in the companies and economies we invest in."

BlackRock
BlackRock is has announced that West Lockhart has been appointed as EMEA head of BAS Wealth.

Lockhart will be joining BlackRock Alternatives Specialists to lead the private market strategy in EMEA Wealth and to drive the next phase of strategic growth for the business. Lockhart brings significant wealth, family office and strategic partnership expertise having held previous leadership roles in EMEA Wealth, EMEA Strategic Partnership Program and LatAm distribution at BlackRock. Lockhart joined BlackRock in 2007 and was named Managing Director in 2010.

He will work closely with BlackRock's leadership to support the firm's ambition to become a top global alternatives wealth manager. The European wealth market currently holds $1.5T of alternatives and represents a key engine of growth for the asset management industry. Forecasts show that alternative investments are expected to grow to $2.2T by 2024 (8% PA growth).

Commenting on his plans for the business, Lockhart said: "We see substantial opportunity to provide wealth managers with a range of private market strategies, technology and bespoke services to achieve investor goals, against a backdrop of low rates, companies staying private longer and the need for greater portfolio diversification."

IQ-EQ
IQ-EQ has announced the creation of a Real Estate team in Asia, which builds upon the group's extensive global real estate expertise and growing Asian real estate portfolio.

This development follows the recent relocation of real estate-focused client director Neil Synnott to Singapore and the appointment of team manager Denish Leang.

IQ-EQ provides one of the most comprehensive service offerings to alternative investment managers globally and has considerable technical and practical experience of real estate financing and ownership structuring.

The group has been active in Asia for over 25 years, with key offices in Singapore, Hong Kong, the Philippines and Japan. Together, IQ-EQ Singapore and IQ-EQ Hong Kong are home to the group's Asian real estate servicing hub and act for 220+ funds with a combined AuA value of more than $44bn.

Key members of IQ-EQ's growing Asian real estate team include client services director Neil Synnott, who joined IQ-EQ Luxembourg in 2017 and relocated to Singapore at the end of 2020. With more than 15 years' international financial services experience and a specialism in real estate funds, Neil holds responsibility for a complex portfolio of international real estate and private equity clients.

Denish Leang is the latest addition to the team following his appointment as client services team manager, which will see him take responsibility for the day-to-day servicing of IQ-EQ Singapore's real estate fund clients. Before joining IQ-EQ, Denish was a manager within PwC's Financial Services Asset and Wealth Management division, specialised in private equity and real estate. 

Aviva Investors
Mark Versey, who was recently appointed CEO of Aviva Investors, has joined the Investment Association's board of directors.