French fund manager Amundi has appointed Vincent Mortier as chief investment officer, taking over from Pascal Blanqué who has become chair of the newly launched research unit Amundi Institute.
Mortier (pictured) has been group deputy CIO since 2015 and been key in "anchoring" ESG at the heart of the fund managers investment process, Amundi stated. He has also been very active in the Asia ex-Japan region.
He joined from Société Générale CIB where he held several positions within equity derivatives, most recently as chief financial officer of the Global Banking and Investor Solutions division since 2012.
Following Mortier's promotion, Matteo Germano has been appointed deputy chief investment officer of Amundi.
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Germano has been global head of multi-asset at Amundi as well as chief investment officer for Italy since 2017, and leads the firm's €297bn multi-asset platform.
The fund manager's new research unit, Amundi Institute, has been created as investors have "expressed a critical need to better understand their environment and the evolution of investment practices" in an increasingly "complex and changing world".
Amundi stated: "This environment includes economic, financial, geopolitical, societal and environmental dimensions."
The unit will seek to strengthen advice, training and day-to-day dialogue on these subjects for all its clients, bringing together research, market strategy and asset allocation advisory activities.
A suite of appointments is expected in the future to bolster the initial team of 60 overseen by Blanqué at the Amundi Institute.
Blanqué will be supported by Monica Defend, who will be head of Amundi Institute.
He said: "Inflation, environmental issues, geopolitical tensions... there are many structural regime changes underway. Investors across the board expect a deeper dialogue and sophisticated advice to build more robust portfolios".
Mortier added: "The creation of the Amundi Institute will enhance the contribution of research to all of Amundi's asset management activities so that they can continue to create high-performing investment solutions over the long term, adapted to the specific needs of each client and taking into account all the parameters of an increasingly complex environment."
