Standard Life Aberdeen has lost eight members of its equities team to Aviva Investors as the asset manager bolsters its UK, global and global emerging market equities teams.
Aviva Investors said the new hires reflect the firm’s commitment to invest in its equities business, following the appointment of David Cumming as chief investment officer for equities in January this year.
Mikhail Zverev and Alistair Way will join as head of global equities and head of global emerging market equities, respectively.
Zverev was formerly head of global equities at Standard Life, where he also served as a portfolio manager for a number of funds. Similarly, Way was formerly head of Asia and global emerging market equities at Standard Life and a portfolio manager for several funds.
Both will report to Cumming, alongside Henry Flockhart and Adam McInally, who are joining Aviva Investors as UK equity portfolio managers. Both were formerly investment directors for UK equities and portfolio managers at Standard Life.
Aviva Investors also confirmed it has hired Jaime Ramos Martin, Stephanie Niven and Ross Mathison as global equities portfolio managers, alongside Jonathan Taub and Will Malcom who will join Aviva as global emerging markets portfolio managers.
All of the newly appointed portfolio managers join Aviva Investors from Standard Life, apart from Niven who joins from Tesco Pension Investment.
“We are delighted to attract such high-calibre, experienced individuals with strong performance track records to Aviva Investors, and look forward to them joining the team in the coming months,” said Cumming.
“These appointments, along with additional hires we plan to make this year, will complete the creation of strong, integrated teams in the key areas of global, emerging markets, Europe, US and UK equities.”
Chief executive at Aviva Investors, Euan Munro, added that investing in its equities capabilities is a strategic priority for the business.
“These hires will enhance our ability to offer compelling equity propositions for wholesale and institutional investors, as well as strengthening idea generation for our broader range of investment solutions,” he said.