Ignis Asset Management has hired Jo Howley as a product
specialist for its liability-driven investment and fixed income business - a
role in which she will work closely with the firm’s investment professionals
and clients, as well as interacting with all distribution channels.

Howley spent the last 15 years
at BlackRock, where she held fixed income and LDI product specialist positions.
Her responsibilities included mandate oversight, consultant liaison and client
relationship management.

Ignis currently manages
£30 billion (about $47.7 billion) of assets against
liabilities, primarily on behalf of its parent company, Phoenix Group, and
associated life insurance clients. In terms of fixed income, the firm manages some £55 billion in assets.

Already this month
the UK asset manager has hired Mark Julio as portfolio manager for emerging markets
equities, recruiting him from Baring Asset Management. The firm also took on Simon
Cowan as fund sales director, responsible for wealth manager and discretionary
accounts in London.

At the end of August, Ignis logged a rise in
profits of £19 million ($30.2 billion) in the six months to 30 June, up by £1
million on the same period a year before, despite difficult trading conditions.