John Levene has joined Clear Street as head of institutional, overseeing the firm’s prime brokerage business, following more than 25 years at Goldman Sachs. The move will see Levene using his experience in building and managing prime brokerage platforms across the capital markets to bring leadership to his new role at Clear Street.  

During his time at Goldman Sachs, Levene was partner for 14 years, acting as a leader in the client service space and serving as head of global banking and markets client experience, co-head of prime services client experience and head of prime brokerage client franchise, Americas.  

“We welcome John to his new role, where his industry expertise and strategic mindset will be instrumental in advancing our mission to provide best-in-class technology and client service,” said chief executive of Clear Street, Edward Tilly.  

Columbia Threadneedle  

Columbia Threadneedle Investments has welcomed Francesca Mace Wilson to the EMEA equity trading desk. The move sees her leaving her role as senior investment control analyst at Capital Group, which she had held since October 2022.  

Prior to this, Mace Wilson held previous positions at Titan Institutional Services, working across wealth management, prime brokerage and sales.  

Head of EMEA equity trading at Columbia Threadneedle, Michael Johnson said: “Francesca joins us having spent five years at Capital Group and, in addition to trading equities, will help us enhance our position across the capital markets structure.”  

TD Securities  

TD Securities has named Greg Levett, Neil McKay and David Abraham as the new managing directors of its event driven sales and trading team, with all three new hires transferring from BTIG. Levett had previously served at BTIG since 2010 and began his career in event driven sales at Pali International.   

Abraham’s recent roles include positions at FBR Capital Markets, Merebis Capital Management, Titanium Capital, ZAN Partners, Goldman Sachs, NatWest Markets and Credit Lyonnais Securities.   

New addition McKay also covered equity sales and trading as managing director at BTIG and brings extensive knowledge of the event driven sector. Prior to his stint at BTIG he held roles at Barclays, Abberton Capital, United First Partners, Arrowgrass Capital Partners, Stark Investments, Citadel and CSFB.  

Citi  

Citi has named Christopher Chang as its new head of markets solutions for financial institutions for Asia South and Asia North. Chang joins from Goldman Sachs, where he served as head of FICC and equity distribution for Southeast Asia and been a board member of Goldman Sachs Singapore for more than 10 years.  

Prior to Goldman Sachs, he held various senior banking, solutions and sales roles at Deutsche Bank and Nomura. The move will see him reporting to head of markets sales for Japan, Asia North and Australia and Asia South, Cecile Gambardella, who said: “He [Chang] will work closely with our product partners and across banking, wealth and international to bridge the best of Citi’s capabilities and deliver value to both our clients and Citi.”  

Broadridge  

Broadridge Financial Solutions has expanded its product management team with Ian Williams and Anand Chintala stepping into senior roles within Broadridge Trading and Connectivity Solutions.  

In his new role, Williams will assume the role of vice president of product management based in Toronto, leaving his previous position as chief executive of Virtu Canada.   

Similarly, Chintala will become the division’s senior director in New York, and joins from Barclays, where he acted as director of portfolio trading. Williams brings more than 30 years of trading and product leadership positions to the role, and he previously worked at TriAct Canada Marketplace – now Cboe Global Markets, Perimeter Financial Corp and TD.  

Chintala also has extensive industry experience and held director and vice president titles at Lehman Brothers and ITG.  

“With over three decades of trading and product leadership positions in both Canada and the US, Williams will be instrumental in expanding our global footprint in Canada,” said the firm in an update on social media.  

Liquidnet  

Chris Jackson has been promoted as Liquidnet’s new global head of equities, continuing his 10-year tenure with the firm. The move sees London-based Jackson departing from his role as global head of equity strategy and head of equities for EMEA. 

Prior to joining Liquidnet, he held the position of head of EMEA execution sales at Citi from 2009 to 2015. He has also worked in director positions with a focus on portfolio sales, analytics, and sales trading at SBC Warburg and Merrill Lynch.  

Speaking on the announcement, Liquidnet said: “His [Jackson’s] leadership will be instrumental as we continue to scale up our equities business globally and develop, together with our members, innovative solutions that combine deep liquidity access with intelligent execution.”   

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The completion of the acquisition follows the announcement on 12 April that the two firms had agreed terms of a deal.

The acquisition adds $131 billion in assets under management (AUM) to Columbia Threadneedle, increasing its total AUM to $714 billion, making it one of the top 35 asset managers globally and one of the top 10 in the UK.

Through the completed transaction, Columbia Threadneedle can now focus on areas of increasing importance in the European and global asset management landscape, including responsible investment (RI), alternatives, and solutions.

In respect to RI, Columbia Threadneedle and BMO’s EMEA asset management have partnered to create a RI capability based on creating value through research intensity, driving real-world change through active ownership, and partnering with clients to deliver innovative RI solutions.

Together, the two firms manage total assets of $49 billion in RI funds and strategies across asset classes.

When it comes to alternatives, Columbia Threadneedle and BMO’s EMEA asset management have established a global alternatives business of more than $47 billion, which includes real estate in the UK, Europe and the US, infrastructure, private equity and hedge fund offerings.

Together, the two firms also plan to address the increasing demand from clients for less liquid, diversifying assets both as standalone strategies and within bespoke solutions.

In respect to solutions, Columbia Threadneedle and BMO’s EMEA asset management have a solutions business which is  the point of entry of more than $200 billion of client assets, or almost 30% of its expanded assets under management.

Following the acquisition, BMO’s EMEA asset management’s managed investment trusts and its multi-manager range will be added to Columbia Threadneedle’s offering.

Subject to client consent, at a later stage it is expected that certain BMO US asset management clients will move to Columbia Threadneedle following the transaction.  

“This strategically important acquisition accelerates our growth in the EMEA region and secures our position as a significant global asset manager,” said Nick Ring, chief executive, EMEA at Columbia Threadneedle.

”Our established strengths in core asset classes and our strong, long-term performance track record are complemented by key strategic capabilities that improve our ability to meet the evolving needs of our clients,”

“Our combined team of more than 2,500 people share a client-centric culture, a collaborative and research-based investment approach, and a long-held commitment to responsible investment principles. Together, we look forward to embracing our role as active investors to drive change, deliver client outcomes and continue to make our own contribution to a sustainable future.”

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Columbia Threadneedle’s parent company, Ameriprise Financial, confirmed that terms of for the deal had been agreed on 12 April and it is expected to close by the end of this year, subject to regulatory requirements. 

It will add $124 billion of assets under management (AUM) to Columbia Threadneedle’s EMEA business, taking its total AUM to $671 billion, making it one of the top 35 asset managers globally and top 10 asset managers in the UK. 

“Adding BMO’s EMEA asset management business is an exceptional growth opportunity. The transaction advances our strategy and enhances our geographic and asset class diversification, enabling us to serve more clients and meet more of their needs,” said Ted Truscott, CEO of Columbia Threadneedle.

“Critical to this opportunity is the strong alignment between our organisations. We share a client-centric culture, fundamental belief in active management, collaborative and research-based investment approach, and long-held commitment to responsible investment principles.”

The deal is the latest in several major merger on the buy-side as consolidation continues across the industry. Earlier this month, Amundi agreed to acquire Lyxor Asset Management from investment bank Societe Generale for €825 million. 

“Columbia Threadneedle Investments is a strong strategic and cultural fit for our EMEA asset management business and is well-positioned to take it to the next level of growth by extending its reach, scale and investment capabilities,” Joanna Rotenberg, group head of BMO wealth management, commented.

As it looks to reduce its positions in the asset management market, BMO has looked to expand its electronic trading platform with its acquisition of US-based agency broker and algorithmic trading specialist, Clearpool, which it announced in January last year.

BMO said that upon closure of the deal, which it expected to close in the second quarter of last year, Clearpool would remain a separate broker-dealer from BMO with barriers in place to protect confidential client information. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

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Columbia Threadneedle has appointed a new chief executive officer of Europe, East and Africa (EMEA) and Threadneedle Asset Management.

Michelle Scrimgeour is joining Columbia Threadneedle from M&G Investments where she is currently chief risk officer and director.

Prior to M&G, Scrimgeour worked extensively at BlackRock as co-head of fixed income business management and chief operating officer for fixed income.

She has also worked at Bank of America Merrill Lynch between 1997 and 2006 in several roles including global head of fixed income product.

Ted Truscott, global chief executive officer at Columbia Threadneedle, described Scrimgeour as “a business leader with excellent asset management experience.”

“[Scrimgeour] joins Columbia Threadneedle at an exciting time as we further build our global business and continue to focus on delivering successful investment outcomes and solutions for our clients,” he added.

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Chief investment officers of some of the world’s best-known buy-side groups have urged investors to remain hopeful amid a possible economic downturn and recession.

Columbia Threadneedle’s CIO Mark Burgess joined Allianz Global Investors’ Lucy MacDonald and Standard Life Investments’ Rod Paris in warning about short-term economic pain from the UK’s decision to leave the European Union.

Speaking at the Pension and Benefits UK Conference at the QE2 Conference Centre in London, Burgess said Brexit has exasperated an already fragile environment.

However, he said there other macro-economic factors to consider.

He said:  “North America is almost at full employment, and Europe is due to follow. Although recession could become a real possibility, a volatile world can always spark ingenuity.”

All three panellists acknowledged potential problems arising from low interest rates and populism, although each remained confident in the global economies’ ability to recover.

Standard Life Investments’ Rod Paris – by far the most optimistic of the three - stated the main reason for the economic reaction to Brexit, is the uncertainty.

He said: “The driving issues in this economic downturn are the result of a political decision. This is primarily uncertainty shock driving economic variables, and nothing more.”

Paris said he has a belief that Brexit can be a catalyst for change in prevailing economic orthodoxy, however.

Lucy MacDonald, managing director and CIO for global equities at Allianz Global Investors, added that Brexit was challenging already low growth in the UK economy.

She called on asset managers to be active in their convictions: “We already have significant structural growth from increased technology, social networking and transparency. Brexit cannot stop that.”

Burgess concluded: “When growth is low, we always find ways to make money”

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