Asset consultant Frontier Advisors has restructured its research team, with a greater responsibility for Paul Newfield, Director of Sector Research at Frontier.
The changes will see Michiel Swaak, Head of Alternatives, exit the firm, as the alternative sector will be merged into a combined Defensive and Alternative sector.
Frontier Advisors has decided to bring Investment Governance and Responsible Investment into the sector research program, under the direction of Newfield.
Frontier had previously isolated alternatives as a standalone research team, however, has decided to bring that area into a broader Defensives and Alternatives group to create a larger team of aligned specialists.
Iain McMahon and Sarah Cornelius will move into new roles as Head of Defensives and Alternatives, and Head of Investment Governance.
In addition, Marie Cardaci has been promoted to Deputy Head of Responsible Investment, reporting to Joe Alcock, Head of Responsible Investment at Frontier.
The other dedicated research teams reporting to Newfield will be Real Assets, Equities, Defensives and Alternatives and Private Markets.
Andrew Kemp, Principal Consultant at Frontier, will take on the new role of Deputy Director of Research, supporting Newfield, while also leading the private markets research effort for the firm.
Manish Rastogi and James Gunn will remain in their roles as Head of Real Assets and Head of Equities.
Andrew Polson, Chief Executive Officer of Frontier, said the changes were a reflection of the firm’s recently released five-year strategy and a shift in what their clients are looking for.
“There’s no doubt that both responsible investment and enhanced governance in investing are key areas of focus for asset owners. We think bringing our dedicated teams already working with clients in these areas directly into our research program will deliver further synergies and further integrate those insights and practices,” Polson said.
“To help facilitate the introduction of new talent to Frontier, and to provide a clearer career path for our junior staff, we’ll be introducing an entry level pool of investment and data analysts to support all our teams and add greater dimension and challenge to our Associate level staff by taking on some of their less-intensive work,” he said.
The firm will continue to hunt for talent in 2024 to build out their new pool of analysts and add more senior capability to its research and client consulting teams.
__________
[i3] Insights is the official educational bulletin of the Investment Innovation Institute [i3]. It covers major trends and innovations in institutional investing, providing independent and thought-provoking content about pension funds, insurance companies and sovereign wealth funds across the globe.