La Financière de l’Échiquier (LFDE) has appointed Michel Saugné as CIO, since January 1 2025, with fully responsible for LFDE’s investment activities.

Since Tocqueville Finance merged with LFDE in April 2024, Saugné had served as co-CIO with Olivier de Berranger, CEO of LFDE.

In a statement today (16 January), the asset manager said this change in governance will support the business development goals of the New LFDE, France’s conviction-driven equity manager and one of the main players in Europe, with over €26bn in assets under management.

Saugné (pictured) now heads one of the largest investment teams in Paris. With over 50 fund managers and analysts, the team is split into 15 areas of expertise. These investment professionals cover a wide range of asset classes, including different styles, themes and regions, to better meet their clients’ needs and address changing market environments. As a global equity specialist since 2010, LFDE aims to continue extending its investment expertise.

Olivier de Berranger, CEO of La Financière de l’Échiquier, said: “Michel has developed a deep expertise in asset management. As an experienced professional, I am fully confident in his ability to drive our growth plans forward successfully. Our goal is to conquer new markets while continuing to focus on innovation, which is deeply woven into LFDE’s DNA”.

Saugné added: “My appointment as Chief Investment Officer is an exciting challenge. I know that I can rely on a robust and experienced investment team to step up the work we began together in recent months and build Europe’s leading conviction-driven asset manager”.

A graduate of ESSEC, Saugné began his career in 1999 with BNP Paribas before joining Natixis as a proprietary trader on equity strategies. In 2004, he moved to LCF Rothschild as a fund manager and was later appointed Head of the Funds of Hedge Funds team and co-head of the long-short equity expertise at Edmond de Rothschild.

He joined Tocqueville Finance in 2013 and was promoted to deputy CIO in 2016. A member of LBP AM’s Executive Committee, he was appointed deputy CEO of Tocqueville Finance in 2023. In 2024, Michel Saugné was appointed Co-CIO of LFDE and joined the Executive Committee. Michel Saugné was promoted to CIO of LFDE in January 2025.

Founded in 1991 and a subsidiary of LBP AM since July 2023, La Financière de l’Échiquier (LFDE) employs more than 170 people and is present in Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and the Benelux countries.