The latest moves in wealth management from across Europe and the Middle East.

DECALIA Asset Management
DECALIA Asset Management, the Swiss firm, has appointed Bernhard Utiger as region head to develop its business in German-speaking Switzerland.

Then firm started tackling the Swiss-German market in 2017.

Utiger has more than 18 years of experience in fund distribution and sales covering German-speaking Switzerland. Prior to this, Utiger worked in different management and senior sales roles at leading investment firms, such as Vontobel Investment Banking, Flossbach von Storch, JP Morgan Asset Management and Julius Baer Asset Management. 

Utiger replaces Claudia Eftimie who will take on new challenges, the firm said. 

The firm has a suite of 14 investment strategies that focus on four themes that are deemed promising over the long-term: new consumer trends, quest for yield, dis-intermediation in the banking sector and market inefficiencies. 

LGIM
Legal & General Investment Management has appointed three new board members to join its Irish management company. The asset manager said the move was to support European business growth that is being increasingly managed from its Dublin office.

The three new directors are: Lee Toms, non-executive director and global head of investment operations; Volker Kurr, executive director and head of European institutional distribution and the group’s German business lead; and John Craven, executive director and European head of finance. Their positions take effect immediately and bring the board total to seven, the firm said.

Strong governance and oversight is part of having the “necessary experience and infrastructure in place to support our growth in the region, and to ensure we can continue to service our clients across Europe, regardless of the outcome of negotiations around the UK’s exit from the European Union,” Eve Finn, CEO of LGIM Europe, said.

In May 2018, LGIM gained clearance to manage its European UCITS and alternative investment funds from the Dublin office. In March this year, the group was approved by the CBI to extend into individual portfolio management, both of which have expanded the Dublin office to over 20 employees.

Founders Bank
Malta-based Founders Bank, which focuses on serving the tech sector, including blockchain and emerging sectors, has appointed senior Deutsche Bank executive Kenan Altunis as its chief executive. 

The organisation is seeking a European banking licence from the Malta Financial Services Authority. It intends, once approved, to serve clients in Europe and beyond.

In his last role, Altunis served as global co-head of the institutional client group in Deutsche Bank's Corporate and Investment Bank.