Utmost, a London-headquartered provider of insurance-based wealth solutions, has appointed Nicoletta Basso as branch manager of its Luxembourg branch. She previously served for more than 6 years at Utmost as tax and legal counsel for Italy, advising high net worth clients and business partners alongside the sales team.
Basso has more than 15 years of experience in financial services, focusing on cross-border and multi-jurisdictional matters. She previously worked in the compliance department of a Dublin-based Mifid investment manager. Utmost said the appointment reflects continued investment in Italy as part of its global growth strategy.
JP Morgan Private Bank Germany
JP Morgan Private Bank has appointed Christiane Ptassek as market head of investments and advice for Germany. The appointment was confirmed by the firm following a LinkedIn post by Caroline Pötsch-Hennig, managing director of JP Morgan Private Bank Germany.
Ptassek will focus on deepening client relationships and enhancing the investment offering for clients across Germany. She brings 30 years of experience in the financial industry, including 22 years in senior roles at JP Morgan. The bank has expanded its adviser network in recent years, opened an office in Munich and plans to launch a Hamburg location in 2026 as part of its growth strategy in Germany.
Jupiter Asset Management
London-based active manager Jupiter Asset Management has appointed Piers Hillier as chief investment officer. He will oversee the group’s investment teams, lead the development of new strategies and support talent recruitment across the platform.
Hillier joins from Royal London Asset Management, where he served as chief investment officer since 2015. He has more than 30 years of industry experience, including senior roles at Kames Capital, LV Asset Management, WestLB, Deutsche Asset Management and Schroders.
The appointment follows a period of expansion at Jupiter, including the acquisition of Origin Asset Management’s investment team in January 2025 and the completion of its purchase of CCLA Investment Management in February 2026.
Bain & Company
Bain & Company has appointed Cédric Bovy as managing partner of its Amsterdam and Brussels offices. He succeeds Nicolas Willemot, who led the Brussels office for the past seven years and added responsibility for Amsterdam in 2024.
Bovy joined Bain in 2006 after graduating in business engineering from the University of Louvain. Willemot was appointed earlier this year as head of Bain’s global consumer products practice.
HQ Trust
German multi family office HQ Trust has appointed Philipp Söchtig as head of IT and platform, effective mid-March. The position has been newly created. Söchtig reports to Christian Stadtmüller, managing director and chief financial officer and chief operating officer at the multi-family office.
Söchtig joins from Berenberg, where he worked since October 2015, most recently as head of corporate development and operations and deputy head of IT. Earlier, he spent more than 5 years as senior consultant in corporate development at DZ Bank in Frankfurt. In his new role, he will oversee the firm’s digital infrastructure, including platform strategy, artificial intelligence integration and value chain optimisation.
Colliers
London-based investment management company Colliers has appointed Laura Hernando as chief executive officer for the Iberian peninsula, effective in the second quarter of 2026. She succeeds Mikel Echavarren, who will remain chairman for the region and continue to serve on Colliers’ EMEA senior leadership team.
Hernando brings more than 20 years of experience in the Iberian market. She has advised on major hotel transactions, including single-asset and portfolio deals, corporate transactions and financial restructurings.
Lucerne Capital Management
Lucerne Capital Management has appointed Frank Austin as portfolio manager to lead its U.S. farmland investment strategy. The appointment follows the firm’s recent entry into farmland investing. The strategy is housed within Bramble Run, a dedicated investment unit inside Lucerne’s real assets platform, which serves as general partner to the inaugural fund, Rubicon I, L.P.
Austin brings more than 10 years of experience in institutional farmland investing across row and permanent crops. He joins from Clear Frontier, where he was partner and investment director, and previously served as portfolio manager at Arbor Nutrio. He began his career at Rothschild & Co. Lucerne Capital Management is a US investment firm founded in 2000.
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