The senior figure joins LJ Partnership's subsidiary in Hong Kong.

LJ Partnership, the wealth manager that rebrands as Avarium Investments early next year, has appointed Neill O'Brien as managing director.

O'Brien joins the firm's wholly-owned investment and advisory subsidiary, Guggenheim Investment Advisors (Hong Kong), the entity that LJ Partnership bought in 2016.

His appointment comes shortly after a significant investment by Dilmun, the New York-backed family office originally from the Gulf, which acquired a 40 per cent stake in LJ Partnership in July this year.

O’Brien has more than 10 years of experience in real estate advisory, counselling Asian real estate clients on acquisitions, dispositions, JVs, debt and equity raising, as well as leasing and ownership strategy. Based in Hong Kong, his real estate advisory expertise complements GIA HK’s existing asset management capability.

"This comes at a time that we are expanding our footprint in the Asia-Pacific region. Neill will be a strong addition to the specialist advisory team matching long-term capital to proprietory deal flow," Alexander de Meyer, CEO of LJ Partnership, said.

LJ Partnership partners with real estate operators, each with a specific real estate specialisation ranging across residential, commercial and hotels/hospitality. To date, it has invested over £2.2 billion (about $3 billion) of equity, primarily in real estate, and its realised track record shows a net IRR of 25 per cent, it said. In total, LJ Partnership oversees about $15 billion of assets.