Two of Luxembourg’s biggest asset services companies, Apex and Universal-Investment, have recently strengthened their client services teams.
Stefan Koch has been appointed as Client Relations Director and member of the Management Board at Apex Fund Services Luxembourg, the company said on Wednesday.
Koch will primarily focus on clients in German-speaking countries and the growth strategy of Apex in Luxembourg. He joins from Intertrust Group, where he was Head of Real Estate, Western Europe and led the integration following the acquisition of Round Hill Capital.
Prior to this, Stefan held senior roles with Morgan Stanley in Luxembourg and Frankfurt, and accounting roles with KPMG, PwC and Threadgreen Europe.
Lee Marshall
Lee Marshall (pictured), Head of Transformation at Apex Group will also join the Management Board. Lee has over 25 years of experience in operational, technology and product leadership roles, including over a decade in Luxembourg as COO of KNEIP and MasonBower Luxembourg, most recently as Chief Transformation Officer.
Both Marshall and Koch will report to Frederic Bilas, who was appointed CEO of Apex Fund Services Luxembourg, known as AFS, last September. Their appointments are subject to approval by Luxembourg supervisor Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF).
AFS is part of Bermuda-based Apex Group, which employs some 5000 people in 50 offices worldwide.
Jochen Meyers and Andreas Gessinger
At German management company Universal-Investment, which aspires to become “Europe’s leading fund service platform”, Jochen Meyers has been appointed Area Head Relationship Management Institutional Investors and Andreas Gessinger as Area Head Relationship Management Fund Initiators. Both previously held these positions as department heads.
Marcus Kuntz
Marcus Kuntz, previously head of Universal-Investment’s customer acquisition department for Asset Manager Solutions, is now the Area Head responsible for all sales activities, with the two former sales departments for institutional investors and asset manager solutions brought together under his leadership.
Universal-Investment, which administered assets worth 750 billion euro at the end of 2021, said that the appointments will allow it, “as a fund service platform and Super ManCo, to further strengthen its clear focus on customer satisfaction and service quality by offering its clients a portfolio of made-to-measure solutions.”
Katja Müller
Overall responsibility for all client activities remains with Katja Müller, Chief Customer Officer and Managing Director of Universal-Investment. The manco, with corporate headquarters in Frankfurt, reported fast growth for its Luxembourg business and said the Grand Duchy plays an “increasingly important role”.
At the same time, its move into Ireland and its new London branch “laid the foundations for developing the English-speaking customer market and playing an ever-growing role internationally,” the company said.
“But despite all the growth and changes, one thing remains constant: Our business model with its clear focus on our clients’ needs, in the ManCo businesses as well as in fund administration,” Müller said in a press release.
Hilko de Brouwer
French-German financial group Oddo BHF Asset Management meanwhile has affirmed its ambition to develop its pan-European business with institutional clients and distribution partners with the arrival of Hilko de Brouwer, as Global Head of Sales. Bertrand Sance will remain responsible for wealth management advisors at Oddo.
De Brouwer, who worked in Frankfurt, Zurich, London and Amsterdam, will be responsible for “boosting the sales momentum” of all listed and unlisted investment solutions, the company said, and for unifying the sales and client service team of some 60 professionals based in Germany, France, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates.
De Brouwer will be a member of the Executive Committee and will be based in Frankfurt. He will report directly to Nicolas Chaput, CEO of ODDO BHF Asset Management.