Investment Association

Sonja Laud, chief investment officer of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), has been appointed as the new chair of the IA Investment Committee, the Investment Association has announced.

The Investment Committee is one of the IA's most senior committees, convening CIO-level individuals from member firms to provide strategic direction and oversight on all matters affecting IA members as investors and users of capital markets.

This includes effective investment in all asset classes, capital markets developments and top level oversight of the IA's work on Sustainability and Responsible Investment, which continues to be a key area of development within the investment industry.

Sonja replaces Rick LaCaille, Executive Vice President and Senior Adviser of State Street Group, as Chair of the Committee.

Galina Dimitrova, director of investment and capital markets at the Investment Association, said: "We are thrilled to welcome Sonja to this post, who, having served as our Deputy Chair, already has a solid understanding of our committee's work. We look forward to harnessing her deep investment knowledge, as we embark on further change and evolution for our industry. Sonja's advice and support will be instrumental as we continue to help and guide members, and navigate the path ahead.

CFA

CFA Society United Kingdom (CFA UK), part of CFA Institute, has appointed Lindsey Matthews as chair and added two board members.
Matthews is currently chief risk officer at the Universities Superannuation Scheme and has been a member of the board of directors since 2017.

In addition, Sylvia Solomon and Philippe Lenoble have been appointed to the board of CFA UK.

Solomon is director of ESG and Business Development at Equitile Investments Ltd where she sits on the Investment Committee and is Chair of the Governance Committee.

She has over 30 years of investment industry experience on the buy-side, in sustainable investing and managing both Long-only and hedge fund equity portfolios.is an active member of CFA UK, according to the organisation, and has over 30 years experience in the investment industry, primarily in equities and sustainable investing. 

She spent 25 years managing a wide range of funds, including pensions, life funds, endowments, unit trusts and hedge funds at Baring Asset Management, Hermes Investment Management and Ennismore Fund Management.

Philippe Lenoble is currently responsible for building the infrastructure investment team of AustralianSuper in Europe. Prior to his appointment, he was a senior managing director with CDPQ's infrastructure group, a managing director with Goldman Sachs' infrastructure investment group and a vice president within Citigroup's European structured finance team.

Bank Syz

Bank Syz has appointed Dominik Staffelbach as head of Switzerland to lead its domestic expansion strategy.

Staffelbach, who will be based in Zurich, joins the bank with more than two decades of private banking experience in Switzerland and around the world.

Before joining Bank Syz, Staffelbach worked at the private bank Rahn+Bodmer, where he was responsible for entrepreneurs.

Prior to this, he spent more than 15 years at the UBS Group, where he held various managerial and non-managerial positions in Switzerland and abroad, with a focus on developing ultra-high-net-worth clients globally. He graduated from the University of Zurich and holds a Master's degree in Banking and Finance.

Reporting into Nicolas Syz, head of private banking, Staffelbach will be responsible for developing and implementing Syz's strategy for the Swiss market by leveraging its wide range of difficult-to-access wealth management services and alternative investments.

Newton Investment Management

Newton Investment Management has appointed Therese Niklasson as global head of sustainable investment. Starting on 7 February 2022, she will be joining the executive committee with a remit to drive Newton's strategy for responsible and sustainable investment globally. Niklasson will report directly in London to CEO Euan Munro.

Newton, part of BNY Mellon Investment Management, with an estimated $139 billion under management, said that Niklasson will lead a team of 19 overseeing ESG integration and validatiion across strategies and asset classes as well as leading on all sustainability governance issues. The firm operates from offices in London, Boston, New York, and San Francisco.

Most recently she was global head of sustainability at Ninety One (previously Investec Asset Management); and before that global head of ESG and head of ESG research at the firm. Niklasson has also led governance and responsible investment at Threadneedle Investments.

Brown Shipley

Brown Shipley, a Quintet Private Bank, has appointed Kenny Cummings as a financial planner, based in Edinburgh, bolstering its wealth planning team in Scotland. Cummings will report to Matt Hoyne, head of the Edinburgh office and work with Rebecca Williams, head Wealth Planning in the UK.

Cummings has served as a financial advisor since 2017. He joins Brown Shipley from Spence & Spence IFA, where he met the complex needs of an array of high net worth individuals. Earlier, Cummings was a chemical engineer, holding the role of Managing Director of Abbeyhill Electrical Services following completion of the graduate programme at A.P. Moller Maersk Group.

The appointment of Cummings follows that of Matt Hoyne as Head of Edinburgh office and Gerard Wilson as a Director. Both joined Brown Shipley last year and are driving Brown Shipley's growth plans in Scotland.

Citigroup

Citigroup has named a new head of digital assets within the division housing its investment bank, and will hire an additional 100 staff as part of a fresh push into the sector.

The US bank has promoted Puneet Singhvi to become head of digital assets within its institutional clients group, a role that will sit within its business development team.

WisdomTree

WisdomTree has announced the expansion of its global digital assets team.

The firm now has a dedicated team of 12 focused on decentralized finance (DeFi) initiatives, including new hire John Davidson, joining as WisdomTree's new Global Head of Financial Crimes, focused on anti-money laundering (AML) and regulatory compliance.

Davidson's focus on compliance, specifically, is helping the firm embrace what Jonathan Steinberg, WisdomTree Founder and CEO, calls "responsible DeFi," upholding the foundational principles of regulation in the quickly evolving space.

Ogier

Ogier's Corporate team has welcomed new partner Cynthia Anandajayasekeram, whose practice focuses on public and private mergers and acquisitions, downstream private equity transactions, non-contentious restructurings and corporate governance matters.

She brings more than a decade of top tier international law firm experience from the Cayman Islands, New York, Sydney and Melbourne to her practice.

While previously working at Ogier in the Cayman Islands, Cynthia advised on several high-profile matters including Cayman National's response to the tender offer by Republic Bank to acquire up to 74.99% of its issued share capital - the first transaction of its kind in the jurisdiction.