AJ Bell
Ian Aylward has been appointed AJ Bell’s new head of investment partnerships to support the firm’s expanding model portfolio service (MPS). He formerly worked at Barclays Private Bank and Wealth Management.
It said demand from advisers for tailored portfolios had undergone “rapid growth,” with assets under management climbing 45% in this year alone to £6.8bn.
AJ Bell noted that Aylward’s experience managing multi-asset and single asset solutions made him a prime candidate to lead this growing branch of the business.
Quilter Cheviot
The wealth manager has hired Maurizio Carulli as an equity research analyst to focus on the global energy and materials sector, bringing 30 years of experience to the role.
The role will cover listed companies including oil majors, mining, chemicals, building materials, paper and steel. Carulli spent the past near four years at Carbon Tracker, where he was head of corporate research. Previously, he held roles at Schroders, AXA Investment Managers, and Merrill Lynch.
Carulli will report to head of equity research Chris Beckett and join Quilter Cheviot’s research team.
Royal London Asset Management
Former Aviva Investors global equities managers Richard Saldanha, Francois de Bruin and Matt Kirby have joined Royal London Asset Management (RLAM), while Mike Fox has been named as the firm’s head of equities.
Saldanha, de Bruin and Kirby exited Aviva in August.
See also: AJ Bell: Inheritance tax nil-band freeze will cost families an extra £234k
As part of the move, Saldanha has been named lead manager of the Royal London Global Equity Income fund and a manager on the Global Equity Select fund which De Bruin will head.
Kirby will co-manage the Global Equity Income and Global Equity Diversified funds.
Meanwhile, head of sustainable investments Mike Fox has been appointed head of equities following Peter Rutter’s decision to exit RLAM to set up his own boutique back in April.
PGIM
Morgan Stanley co-head Jacques Chappuis has been appointed the new president and chief executive officer of PGIM, replacing David Hunt when he leaves the firm in July.
Hunt, who has headed up the asset management business since 2011, will stay on for a transitory period of two months before Chappuis officially takes the helm in 1st May 2025.
Chappuis moves over from Morgan Stanley Investment Management, where he has been in various leadership roles since 2006.
Chelverton Asset Management
The firm has launched a UK equities fund to be managed by Julie Dean, who joined the firm earlier this year, alongside Henry Botting.
The Chelverton UK Opportunities fund is an all-cap fund with 35 to 55 stocks, and 60% of assets in large-cap holdings. It targets outperforming the UK equity market by 3% each year over rolling three-year cycles.
Oberon Investments Group
The boutique has hired Adam Hughes as head of distribution, bringing 20 years of experience to the role.
Hughes started his career with Neptune Investment Management as one of the company’s original employees, watching assets under management grow from £350m to £7.8bn during his tenure.
He then spent almost two years as head of distribution for private equity business Livingbridge, building out the distribution architecture for its Wood Street MicroCap fund.
