People Moves: VG, Barclays WM, Blackrock, Neuberger Berman, EQ Investors 

VG

VG, one of Jersey's largest independent providers of trust, corporate and fund administration solutions, has bolstered its private wealth team with the appointment of Wendy Inns as a Director, subject to regulatory approval, within VG's private wealth team.

She brings more than 25 years' experience and joins from Jersey-based trust company Hawksford, where she held the role of Director for five years, leading a highly experienced team and working with high profile clients. 

Her wealth of knowledge around navigating relationships with HNW and UHNW clients stems from her previous roles as Associate Director at former trust company Minerva, alongside roles at Ogier and a number of global banks. 

The recent strengthening builds on a wave of new private wealth business at VG, with inquiries rising by more than 60% in the past year. Wendy and her team will work alongside the wider private wealth teams to continue the business's promising growth trajectory.

Joining Wendy's newly formed team, VG welcomes Katherine Heddercott who will work alongside Wendy as an Assistant Manager.

Katherine has 16 years' experience in the trust industry, joining from Hawksford, where she worked alongside Wendy for 5 years. Wendy's team will also be enhanced by the relocation of senior trust officer, Samantha Bohan, who has been part of the wider private wealth team at VG for several years.

Iain Mason, Managing Director at VG, commented on the new hires "The past year has seen the private wealth offering at VG ride a strong wave of increased demand, and the hires of Wendy and Katherine signal our intent to further VG's position as a leading provider of private wealth services. The recent surge in demand has signalled that our clients are best served by dedicated director-led teams. We believe these appointments will add a cutting edge to the wider private wealth team and demonstrates our strategy to attract top-tier talent."

Blackrock 

Blackrock has strengthened its sustainability EMEA team with several new senior appointments in its newly-created clients solutions pillar. Stéphane Lapiquonne, the firm's head of sustainability EMEA, said in an internal communication that Ewa Jackson, who heads up sustainable client solutions for EMEA, has been given a wider remit.

As part of her role Jackson will be collaborating closely with client businesses and marketing and oversee a new team of local heads of sustainability who work closely with country teams to deliver on market-specific, commercial priorities. 

Joining Jackson's team is Charlotte Månsson, who becomes head of sustainability for the Nordic region, based in Copenhagen, and David Hickey, who joins the firm as head of sustainability for the UK, based in Edinburgh. 

In addition, Julie Ansidei, who joined the firm in March as head of EMEA external engagement, will also act as head of sustainability for France. Later this year, the firm hopes 

Alongside delivering Blackrock's full spectrum of sustainable products and services, the sustainability heads will also focus on building the firm's presence in local markets, including representing the platform and its capabilities with clients, industry and other key stakeholders. 

"Accounting for over 60% of BlackRock's sustainable flows in 2021 and 20201, EMEA has been at the forefront of BlackRock's sustainability journey over the past several years," said Lapiquonne.

"UK and European policymakers, asset allocators and other stakeholders have been leading their counterparts globally in shaping the future of sustainable investing. For many of our clients in the region, sustainability is a core component of their investment strategy to 

Månsson was previously senior vice president and head of ESG product strategy and commercialisation at Sustainalytics, where she led a global team focused on ESG integration and solutions, market trends and regulation.

Hickey comes to BlackRock from Lothian Pension Fund, where he oversaw all of the fund's responsible investing activities and led engagement with key players in the UK responsible investing ecosystem.

Barclays Wealth Management

Barclays Wealth Management & Investments has made four new appointments to support clients in the East Region.
 
Greig Townsend has been appointed Team Manager, East Region, and joined on 1st June 2022. Greig is responsible for a team of East Regional Wealth Managers focused on building relationships with clients to provide a tailored wealth management approach, and reports into Paul Shaw, Head of London and South East, Barclays Wealth Management & Investments. Greig joins from Santander, having previously worked at Barclays for six years as a Portfolio Manager and Private Banker. 
 
Benjamin Lamers has been appointed East Region Director, Barclays Wealth Management & Investments and joined on 9th June 2022, reporting into Greig Townsend. Benjamin joins from Brown Shipley, where he previously worked as a Client Director supporting clients to manage and invest their wealth. 
In addition, Scott Heslin and Rob Houston were appointed Wealth Managers in April 2022 covering the East region. They join Barclays Wealth Management & Investments from Brewin Dolphin and Barclays Premier respectively. 
 
Neuberger Berman 

Neuberger Berman, a private, independent, employee-owned investment manager, announced today the appointment of Manuel Kalbreier, who has joined the firm as managing director and head of alternative specialists, EMEA Institutional.

In his role in London, Kalbreier will share his alternative investment expertise to enhance client experiences while developing the firm's alternative offerings to best produce desired return outcomes.

Kalbreier joins from Wellington Management, where he spent seven years as managing director and regional director for alternatives in EMEA. In this role, he set up and led the alternatives product management team and the specialist alternatives sales team in the region. Prior to this, Kalbreier spent six years as partner and head of investor relations at Boussard & Gavaudan in London. He has held similar roles at Citigroup and Salomon Brothers.

Dik van Lomwel, head of EMEA and Latin America at Neuberger Berman, comments: "Given the increasing popularity of our alternatives solutions across the board, we are pleased to welcome Manuel to Neuberger Berman. Manuel has a proven history of expertise in the alternatives space and technical understanding of this evolving asset class."

Matthew Malloy, head of institutional client group & insurance solutions at Neuberger Berman, adds: "The investment landscape is rapidly evolving, and investors are looking for diversifying and return-enhancing exposures. Increasing our capacity and execution around the firm's alternatives strategies remains a key priority. Manuel is joining us at a turning point for investors and will bring years of experience with him."

EQ Investors 

EQ Investors (EQ), the B Corp wealth manager, has appointed Luke Powell as Head of Sales for its sustainable Discretionary Fund Management (DFM) business.

Powell will oversee new business development for the discretionary channel in the UK and offshore, as well as running the DFM business development team.

He joins from JM Finn, where he has been Business Development Manager for the last three years and will report to Sophie Kennedy, Joint-CEO. Prior to JM Finn, he worked at Legal & General Investment Management and James Hay. 

Luke Powell, Head of Sales at EQ said:"I'm excited to be joining the EQ team during such a high-growth period as it looks to expand its relationships with advisers across the country. The firm has developed a unique sustainable DFM proposition for advisers and I look forward to promoting this moving forwards."

Sophie Kennedy, Joint-CEO at EQ added: "We are seeing strong demand for our sustainable DFM proposition from advisers in the UK and further afield. We are extremely pleased to welcome someone with Luke's calibre, extensive knowledge, and established relationships into our DFM team."