People Moves: Nuveen, Sarasin & Partners, Franklin Templeton, Belasko, Charles Stanley

Nuveen

Nuveen, a $1.1trn global asset manager and the world's largest investor in farmland, has appointed Nick Moss as head of Nature Based Solutions within its Natural Capital (NNC) arm. 

Based in London, he will be responsible for driving NNC's nature based solutions investment strategy across farmland, forestry and ecological restoration, with a focus on reducing the environmental impact and carbon footprint of commercial production processes, as well as protecting existing and restoring damaged habitats. 

 Moss brings over 15 years' experience in leading investment and technical advisory services across forestry, agriculture and climate finance. He will report into Skye Macpherson, global head of asset management. 

 Prior to joining Nuveen, he led the design and delivery of the AGRI3 strategy, an initiative of Rabobank and UNEP, aiming to mobilise $1bn in public and private investment in  forest conservation and sustainable agriculture. 

In his role, he led the team in the design, fundraising, origination, and portfolio management of sustainable agriculture and natural based climate solutions across Latin America, Asia and Africa for the business. Prior to this, Nick held roles at Adam Smith International and PwC. 

Skye Macpherson , global head of asset management, said: "Nick has a wealth of experience within natural capital investments and strong relationships with business, financial institutions, donors, governments and development finance institutions. He will play a pivotal role in continuing to grow our natural capital and nature based solutions offering, and providing the technical expertise to manage our holdings efficiently, sustainably and to the highest standards."

Moss added: "As interest in real assets continues to grow, Nuveen is well positioned to offer a broad range of specialised investments to investors grounded by a long term and sustainable investment philosophy that seeks to offer investors access to alpha driven strategies."

Sarasin & Partners 

Sarasin & Partners, the global thematic investment manager which invests £18.2bn on behalf of charities, private clients, intermediaries and institutions, has appointed six new partners in the business. 

The appointments reaffirm Sarasin & Partners' commitment to excellence in investment and client service with two appointments from the charities team, Alexander True and Tania McLuckie - and four appointments from the private client team - Stephen Rothwell, Nick Wood, James Fishbourne and Graeme Bruce. 

Two new partners have been appointed from Sarasin & Partners' highly successful charities team. Alexander True, who joined Sarasin & Partners in 2014, brings over 15 years of experience in financial services and manages charity portfolios, as well as being a member of the Sarasin & Partners Stewardship Steering Committee. Tania McLuckie joined the firm more recently in 2017. She manages charity portfolios, drawing on more than 10 years of investment experience across multi-asset and absolute return portfolios for charities, pensions, trusts and private clients.  

Stephen Rothwell has more than 25 years of experience in the investment management and banking industry, working in management positions and with private clients and their advisers. Rothwell focuses on the growth and development of Sarasin's private client business, as well as the management of strategic relationships. He is a member of the Sarasin & Partners Executive Strategic Committee and of the Bank J. Safra Sarasin Guernsey Branch Management Committee.

Nick Wood, who joined Sarasin & Partners in 1998, is responsible for managing investment portfolios including trusts and pensions. He specialises in offshore and international private clients, including US-connected clients as a Director of Sarasin Asset Management (an SEC registered firm). James Fishbourne joined Sarasin & Partners in 2004 and is an investment manager with responsibility for private client portfolios, including pensions, family charities and clients of our key IFA relationships. Graeme Bruce, having been a member of the Sarasin & Partners team since 2013, manages segregated international private client portfolios. This includes managing investment portfolios for clients of Sarasin & Partners' largest shareholder, J. Safra Sarasin. More recently, he has been appointed to chair the firm's ‘NexCo', a group formed to provide greater diversity, challenge and support to the existing Executive Committee, as well as provide a development tool for the next generation of talent.

Sarasin & Partners' well-established charities team oversees investment portfolios for a diverse array of educational, medical, religious and grant-making charities. Our private client business offers tailored and flexible investment solutions to suit a wide range of client types, including individuals, family offices, international clients and offshore trusts, as well as UK resident non-domiciled clients and US persons.

Guy Matthews, managing partner of Sarasin & Partners, said: "Promoting our new partners from within the organisation is a testament to the firm's investment in talent. They each bring with them invaluable industry experience and outstanding ability, reflecting our commitment to offering excellence in investment management and client service to both private clients and charities.

"Our new partners represent the future for the Partnership, adding to the continuity in management, investment expertise and client service which has been the hallmark of our business for many years."

Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton has named Maximilian (Max) Beeck as head of wholesale Switzerland, effective 1 November 2023, reporting to Christian Leger, Head of Distribution for Switzerland. Beeck is based in Zurich. In his new position he will lead the business development efforts related to Franklin Templeton's wholesale business in Switzerland.

Beeck will work in close coordination with Franklin Templeton's regional distribution teams as well as with sales specialists focusing on ETFs and alternative strategies to engage clients on the firm's full range of asset management capabilities.

Christian Leger said: "Our wholesale business in Switzerland has a long successful history dating back to our office opening over 25 years ago, and we are thrilled to have Max on board. He has a robust track record of leading the development of the wholesale business in line with the evolving needs and expectations of very different client types." 

Leger continued: "Capitalizing on our broad line-up of excellent strategies from Franklin Templeton's specialist investment managers, we plan to have a strong focus in 2024 on further developing our business specifically with large, global intermediaries who are also becoming more and more interested in our alternatives offerings."

Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Beeck has worked in senior sales positions at Janus Henderson and Allianz Global Investors. He started his career at UBS, where he spent over five years, most recently as regional Sales Manager for UBS Wealth Management EMEA.

Belasko 

Belasko has appointed Hannah Dunnell as managing director in its Guernsey office to continue the business's multi-jurisdiction expansion.

Hannah will oversee team performance, staff culture and day-to-day running of the office. She has more than 17 years of experience in the local financial services industry, working across fund administration, corporate services and company secretarial services. 

Hannah is an associate of the Chartered Governance Institute and in her new role she will focus on how governance interplays with processes, people and culture across the business. 

She said: ‘I'm passionate about culture and promoting the development of the next generation, particularly the continued development of women in business. This latest round of appointments, including my own new role, is exciting for the future of Belasko and our continued upwards trajectory.

‘In my view, people are the biggest asset of a business and therefore, must be considered in every aspect of evolution for an organisation. I feel a natural synergy and cohesion with the team here at Belasko; something that will be integral in driving the growth of a dynamic business.' 

This round of appointments also sees existing Guernsey team member Gregory McKenzie move to Luxembourg and will take on the role of Managing Director in Luxembourg. With three years' experience managing the Guernsey office, Greg's move promotes collaboration and cohesive structure across the Belasko jurisdictions. 

Paul Lawrence, group managing director, said: ‘Hannah's leadership experience and passion for governance and culture aligns perfectly with our vision and her appointment is a strong addition to Belasko. 

‘We look forward to seeing Hannah's impact across the business, and equally Greg's new position in Luxembourg evidences the group's objective to provide international opportunities for talent.'

Charles Stanley 

Charles Stanley, a leading financial services company, has appointed Abbas Owainati as head of asset allocation and Amish Patel as head of equity research. These strategic hires signify the company's commitment to enhancing its research capabilities and maintaining its position as a leading investment firm.

Abbas Owainati has joined Charles Stanley in the newly created role of Head of Asset Allocation, bringing with him a wealth of experience in the financial industry. Abbas' background includes a successful tenure as a Macro Strategist for the BT Pension Scheme Management (Brightwell), where he played a pivotal role in shaping investment strategies for the £47 billion scheme.

Prior to this, Owainati held roles as a macro strategist at Quilter Investors (formerly Old Mutual Global Investors) and as an economist, with a focus on asset allocation. His deep understanding of global markets and asset allocation will undoubtedly prove invaluable as he leads the asset allocation team at Charles Stanley.

Also starting in October, Amish Patel has assumed the position of head of equities at Charles Stanley, adding further strength to the company's already robust equities division, which also benefits from input from Raymond James Financials US-based research capabilities. He joins from Quintet Private Bank, where he was a Senior Equity Analyst and Strategy Lead, US Equities.

Prior to this, he was a senior equity analyst at Talisman Global Asset Management and held analyst roles at Quilter Cheviot and Janus Henderson. His knowledge and expertise in equities make him the ideal candidate to lead Charles Stanley's equities department into the future.

Both Abbas and Amish will report directly to Patrick Farrell, chief investment officer at Charles Stanley. They join the 20 strong research team whose focus is on delivering in-depth research and insights on macro strategy, collectives, and stocks to support investment choices for the benefit of client portfolios.

Patrick Farrell, chief investment officer at Charles Stanley, said: "The appointments of Abbas and Amish underscores our dedication to building a world-class team that can deliver well-researched investment solutions to our clients. We believe that their knowledge and expertise will further strengthen our capabilities and enhance our ability to navigate the ever-changing investment landscape.

"Both individuals bring a wealth of expertise, and their appointments reflect our ongoing commitment to delivering exceptional investment services to our clients. We are confident that their leadership will contribute significantly to our future success."