Liberty Holdings
The chief executive of South African life insurer and financial services firm Liberty Holdings has resigned with immediate effect. Thabo Dloti stepped down after a difference of opinion with the board on the immediate focus of the company in the face of tough operational and environment challenges.
He has been replaced by David Munro, the current chief executive of Standard Bank Group’s Corporate and Investment Banking division. Standard Bank owns 55% of Liberty.
Schroders
After 14 years with Schroders, energy manager John Coyle is leaving the fund group to concentrate on family commitments. Coyle has run the ISF Global Energy fund for the past 11 years. He joined Schroders in 2003 after working for Scottish Equitable and Axa Investment Managers.
Co-manager Mark Lacey, who has been with Schroders since 2013, will take over as lead manager and be joined by James Luke.
Old Mutual Wealth
Jon Little has joined the Old Mutual Wealth board as an independent non-executive director, the sixth director to be appointed to the board since Glyn Jones became chairman in September 2016.
Little is currently a partner at Northill Capital, a company he founded in November 2010, which provides equity and seed capital to a small number of high-quality start-ups or early stage asset managers. It also provides equity capital to replace existing shareholders in larger more established asset management businesses.
Prior to 2010, he was vice chairman of BNY Mellon Asset Management. He joined Mellon (later BNY Mellon) in 2000 and was latterly head of international asset management business, responsible for all non-US asset management businesses.
St James’s Place
St James’s Place Wealth Management Asia has appointed Alan Collins as senior advisor to the SJP International Steering Committee. The company believes his extensive experience in south-east Asia as a former British diplomat will add invaluable insight as the business develops its position as a provider of face-to-face financial advice.
Collins’s diplomatic service includes high commissioner to Singapore, ambassador to the Philippines, director general of the British Trade and Cultural Office in Taiwan, director general Trade and Investment USA and consul general New York.
Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association
The PLSA has named Richard Butcher as chair, succeeding Lesley Williams whose two-year tenure ends on 20 October 2017.
With a career that spans more than 30 years in the pensions industry, Butcher is currently the managing director of PTL – a provider of independent governance services – as well as a professional independent trustee. At PTL, Butcher is responsible for a wide and diverse range of clients with a specific focus on governance in both DB and DC pension schemes.
Hermes Investment Management
Hermes IM has appointed of Orla Murphy as research director. Based at the firm’s headquarters in London, she will report into the head of investment, Eoin Murray. Murphy will oversee the procurement of equity and credit research from brokers and independent research providers for Hermes’ investment teams.
In this newly created role, she will also be responsible for establishing, reporting and linking research value, managing the research budget, transaction cost analysis and other MiFID II issues.
She joins from VTB Capital, where her roles included business manager for international equities and cross-asset business manager. Murphy has also held business management and analysis positions at Barclays Wealth and Fidelity Investments.
