Aviva Investors has expanded its UK equities team with the hire of BlackRock's Simon Young.

Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of London-listed Aviva, has appointed BlackRock's Simon Young as UK equities fund manager.

Young joins from his position as UK equities fund manager at BlackRock, where he began his investment career almost 20 years ago. Here, he managed over £1 billion ($1.5 billion) in core UK equity and income mandates for a range of institutional, charity and fiduciary clients.

In his new role, Young will work on the business' institutional UK equity fund, while supporting its £992 million retail UK equity income fund. 

Based in London, he will report to Aviva Investors' head of UK equities, Trevor Green.

“Simon has a very strong background in managing UK equity mandates for a wide range of clients. His experience of both portfolio construction and stock and sector analysis makes him a valuable addition to the team as we continue to enhance our UK equities capability,” said Green.

As of the end of 2014, Aviva Investors managed £246 billion of assets worldwide.