Contributing authors

Aanand Venkatramanan

Aanand currently works at LGIM within the ETF team that was acquired from ETF Securities in March 2018. He joined ETF Securities as a Director, Quantitative Investment Strategies in May 2017. Prior to that, he worked at Barclays Capital and Goldman Sachs International as a Vice President within their index research and structuring groups respectively, and at University of Sussex as an Assistant Professor in Finance. He has also had a stint as an entrepreneur.

Adam Rheinberg

Adam focuses on working with our clients to implement LDI and broader solutions based investment strategies. Adam joined LGIM in October 2016 from Willis Towers Watson where he was an investment analyst in the Structured Products team. Here he advised a range of defined benefit pension funds on their LDI strategies. Adam graduated from the University of Oxford in 2013 and holds a master’s in maths. He has passed all three levels of the CFA Program, and may be awarded the charter upon completion of the required work experience.

Adil Mirza

Adil has worked in the finance industry for over 15 years, with a particular focus on fixed income markets. In his spare time (when he’s not thinking about the world and market impacts) he enjoys cycling up mountains.

Aimee Bowkett

Aimee is an Assistant Fund Manager in the Asset Allocation Team, working across several strategies. She joined LGIM in 2016 as an Investment Specialist; she held this role for three years and focused on the business development of our flagship Retail strategies. Outside of work, however, Aimee likes to kick back and relax. Always planning her next sun seeking adventure, she’s happiest on a beach, or creating some mental space on the yoga mat.

Aina Fukuda

Based in Tokyo, Aina leads LGIM's stewardship efforts in Japan. Working with colleagues in London and Chicago, she engages directly with companies, regulators and other investors on a range of issues, including climate change, biodiversity, board governance, and diversity. Prior to joining LGIM in 2019, she was a sustainability consultant at PwC Japan where she helped build the firm’s corporate sustainability advisory practice. Aina serves as the Deputy Chair of the Asian Corporate Governance Association (ACGA) Japan Working Group, which comprises 29 members with a combined global AUM of more than US$20 trillion. She also sits on the SASB Standards Advisory Group and represents LGIM at a number of organisations, such as the 30% Club Japan Investor Group and Japan Climate Leaders’ Partnership (JCLP). She is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) in the USA. Outside work, she enjoys spending time in nature and at the Aikido dojo.

Alex Mack

Alex is a Fund Manager in the Active Fixed Income team. Alex joined LGIM in 2013 as a graduate. Alex holds an MPhil in Economics from the University of Cambridge, St Catharine’s College, and a BEconSc in Economics from Manchester University. Alex also holds the IMC.

Alexander Burr

Alexander joined the team in September 2019 to focus on strengthening LGIM’s public policy engagements across jurisdictions. Prior to this, Alexander spent three years leading international government and institutional relations for a firm that uses alternative finance to invest in sustainable projects in emerging markets. Before that, he spent five years negotiating investments in emerging markets with the European Commission and international climate change funds at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). He also spent time advising middle and low-income governments on alternative finance and jointly establishing a nuclear energy safeguards organisation. Alexander holds a BSc in Politics and International Relations from the University of Southampton.

Alexandra Miles

Alexandra works with our DB and DC clients to implement broader solutions based investment strategies. Alexandra joined LGIM as an LDI & Solutions product specialist in 2014 from Willis Towers Watson where she worked in both the Benefits and Investment strategy teams. Alexandra has an MEng in Aeronautical Engineering, an MSc in Actuarial Finance and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries

Amélie Chowna

Amélie is a Fixed Income Investment Specialist within the Global Fixed Income Team, covering Global Credit and Absolute Return Portfolios. Prior to this, she was a Portfolio Manager for the Global Bond Strategies team, which she joined in 2014 as a Quantitative Analyst. She joined LGIM in 2011 from AXA IM and held a variety of roles within LGIM before joining the Global Fixed Income team. Amelie graduated from ESSEC Business School and holds an MBA. She has been a CFA charterholder since 2015.

Andrew Koch

Andrew joined LGIM in August 2014 and runs the European Equity Income strategies. He started his career at Phillips & Drew in 1992, so has ‘Value Investor’ running through his core like a stick of rock. Outside work, he has a secret super-power as a dog-whisperer.

Andrzej Pioch

Andrzej is a fund manager who places a lot of importance on being mindful. He starts the day with a one-mile swim and a cycle to work. In the office, he focuses on multi-asset income strategies and multi-factor equities, and regularly lectures on asset allocation at one of the London universities. With his newly found enthusiasm for running, he now hopes to tick off one of his bucket list goals and take part in a triathlon. Watch this space…! Andrzej joined in 2014 after five years in the multi-asset team at Aviva Investors.

Angeli Benham

Angeli leads our global approach to remuneration engagement and voting. She joined LGIM in 2005 and has over 20 years of corporate governance experience. She holds a BSc (Hons) degree in Financial Economics, Post Grad. Diploma in Law, Legal Practice Certificate (LPC), Investment Management Certificate (IMC) and is a graduate of ICSA (Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators).

Aniket Das

Aniket is responsible for LGIM’s research in the field of factor-based investing. Aniket joined LGIM in 2016 from Redington where he held the title of Senior Vice President. There he was responsible for leading the research and development of factor-based solutions for clients. Prior to that, in Australia, he worked in fund ratings at Standard & Poor’s. He commenced his career at Morningstar where he held roles covering equity research, asset allocation and retirement solutions development. Aniket is a fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries of Australia and a CFA charterholder. He holds bachelor and master degrees in actuarial studies and applied finance from Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia.

Anita Berisha

Anita joined the Asset Allocation team in June 2020, working to assist the fund managers and investment specialists. In her spare time, she likes to keep things interesting by dabbling in creative pastimes such as painting, exploring her spiritual beliefs, dancing or practising mindfulness out on her Yoga mat. When she is not painting the big picture, Anita likes to see it through following how political and social events impact finance and economics.

Annacarla Dellepiane

Annacarla is responsible for LGIM’s ETF Capital Markets function. Annacarla joined LGIM in 2018 from State Street where she focused on all aspects of ETF technical trading in the primary and secondary markets. Prior to that, she was part of the ETF Capital Markets team at iShares. Annacarla graduated from ESCP Europe and Politecnico di Torino and holds Master of Science and Master of Engineering degrees.

Anne-Marie Morris (née Cunnold)

I design bespoke solutions primarily for DB Pension Fund clients in collaboration with their consultants and advisers, using both physical assets and derivatives primarily for LDI, asset allocation and equity option strategies. When not eulogising about derivatives and LDI, I might be found singing my heart out in classical concerts or volunteering.

Aristide Goualin

After working as a Client Manager in a previous life, Ari is now an Investment Specialist in the Asset Allocation team, working across several strategies. He enjoys long walks on the beach and hates clichés…

Aude Martin

Aude joined L&G ETF in July 2019 as a cross-asset ETF Investment Specialist. Prior to that, Aude worked as a delta one trader at Goldman Sachs and within the structured-products sales teams at HSBC and Credit Agricole CIB. As an investment specialist, she contributes towards the design of investment strategies and actively supports the ETF distribution and marketing efforts. She graduated from EDHEC Business School in 2016 with an MSc in Financial Markets.

Barnaby Napier

Not what one would expect from a Rugby player who grew up in the Cotswolds, Barnaby’s work interests lie within the quantitative aspects of investing, spending his days writing code and building spreadsheets for fund managers. Extending the list of University of Bath Economists in the intern archive, he argues that his sporty childhood prepared him well for work in an investment team (although if you saw him on a football pitch you may have some concerns about his teamwork capabilities).

Ben Bennett

Ben focuses on investment ideas and themes. He spends a lot of time on the 4Ds of fixed income investing: debt, deficits, demographics and deflation. This might be more than a little influenced by his first-hand experience of a credit crisis, having joined us from Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Bill Page

As a property researcher Bill is interested in all aspects of the built environment, from design and construction through to investment trends and the sociology of work. Bill joined LGIM Real Assets in 2012 from property agency JLL, where he managed European office-market analysis. Outside work, Bill can be found running around after his two young sons and longing for sleep.

Bruce White

Bruce is your not-so-Aussie Australian. While seemingly laid back, this serious(ly deadpan) fund manager likes to have trades lined up before most of the team have come in and is not impartial to a little mental acrobatics when it comes to powerpoint slide creation. His socks can be rather colourful…as can his language…

Caroline Ramscar

Caroline is Head of Sustainable Solutions, a role created to develop LGIM’s sustainable strategy. She is responsible for engaging with clients on sustainability and the development of responsible investment solutions. Caroline joined LGIM in September 2013 initially working with L&G Group on its business initiatives with LGIM.

Catherine Ogden

Catherine joined LGIM in 2015 to help drive forward ESG integration into mainstream fund research and to strengthen sustainability engagements. Prior to this, Catherine spent four years working with governments in Africa and Asia on the sustainable policy, planning and management of the extractives sector, and five years in sell-side equity research. A keen linguist and sportsperson, she bemuses her colleagues with a love of Capoeira and British Military Fitness.

Chad Rakvin

Now the Global Head of Index Funds, Chad came to LGIM in 2013 and has over 20 years' experience in the index space. Currently, he manages teams in the London, Chicago and Hong Kong offices. As a result, he has perfected the art of efficient communication, streamlined accuracy and airport management. He is known for driving innovation — through product, technology and process — that is the core of LGIM’s index management strategies. When not at the office, on a red-eye or at one his four children’s sporting events, Chad is still quite busy analyzing patterns and data trends — in the ultimate numbers game of decreasing his golf handicap.

Chris Tydeman

Chris is responsible for lead portfolio management for Global Index Plus and small-cap mandates. Chris joined the team in 2011 having previously worked at LGIM as a performance analyst, specialising in the calculation of performance and attribution of fixed income funds and derivative strategies. Chris graduated from the University of London with an MSc in Economics and holds a BA (hons) in Economics from the University of Leeds as well as the Investment Management Certificate.

Christopher Jeffery

Chris works as a strategist within LGIM’s asset allocation team, focussing on discretionary fixed income and systematic risk premia strategies. He coordinates global rates and inflation strategy across LGIM’s asset allocation and fixed income capabilities. He joined LGIM in 2014 from BNP Paribas Investment Partners where he worked as a senior economist and strategist within the Multi-Asset Solutions group. Prior to that, he worked as an economist within monetary analysis at the Bank of England with a focus on the UK domestic economy. Chris graduated from University College, Oxford in 2001 with a first class degree in philosophy, politics and economics. He also holds an Msc in economics (research) from the London School of Economics and is a CFA charterholder.

Christopher Teschmacher

Chris is something of a perfectionist which may explain the raft of automated spreadsheets ensuring charts are properly formatted to Teschmacher® standards. Having become the resident quiz master, he keeps his colleagues on their toes with a steady stream of investment trivia. This worldly Dutchman has wanderlust in his blood – he was born in Australia and has lived in London, New York and Paris. He has since settled in London with his young family, although regular trips to the South of France suggest that ambitions to become a vineyard owner are still strong.

Clare Payn

Clare is responsible for the team’s stewardship activities for the utilities, technology and media sectors. Clare developed the team’s policy for North America and took a year’s secondment to our LGIMA offices in Chicago in 2016. She communicates with companies, investors and other market participants on various ESG issues, with a specific focus on diversity. Clare chairs the 30% Club UK Investor Group, an influential group of investors that engages with FTSE companies on diversity at board and senior leadership level. She also sits on several internal committees focused on creating a more inclusive and diverse culture. With 20 years’ ESG experience, you could consider ESG to be her life, but Clare is also a committed runner and has a passion for fashion.

Clinton Adas

Clinton joined the team in 2019. He predominantly focuses on client-related activity, but also contributes to broader investment stewardship initiatives. Clinton joined LGIM from Capital Group where he spent six years managing the Investment Information function for Europe and Asia, which covered equity, fixed income and multi-asset products. He holds a BA from Stellenbosch University, an LLB from University College London, and an LLM in Environmental Law from Queen Mary University of London, where he is also currently completing a PhD in Animal and Environmental Law, focusing on biodiversity and conservation. Additionally, he is studying towards a sustainability qualification from Harvard University. Clinton is a fellow of the Zoological Society of London.

Colin Reedie

Colin has responsibility for our Active Strategies team as well as overall portfolio management responsibilities for our Global Credit and Core Plus strategies. Colin joined LGIM in 2005 from Henderson Global Investors, where he was Head of Investment Grade Credit Fund Management. He has 25 years’ experience in bond markets, specialising in non-government debt, and he has previously worked for Henderson Global Investors, Scottish Widows and Scottish Amicable.

Connor Tuttle

Connor is a Senior Portfolio Manager within the Fixed Income Solutions team at LGIM America. Connor joined LGIM America in 2017 from TCW Group in Los Angeles, where he was a member of the fixed income portfolio management team. Prior to TCW, Connor worked at UBS Global Asset Management in Chicago, where he was a Fixed Income Specialist focused on credit strategies. Connor is a CFA Charterholder and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance, Investment & Banking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business.

Corinne Lewis-Reynier

Corinne joined LGIM in September 2018 as Head of Fixed Income Investment Specialists. Corinne has over 20 years' experience working across a range of functions at some of the largest global asset management firms. Prior to LGIM Corinne spent six years at BlackRock as head of European product specialists and senior portfolio manager for short duration strategies, overseeing international assets under management of $125 billion across multiple strategies and currencies.

Cosmo Elms

Cosmo joined LGIM’s ETF team in April 2019 as Head of Business Development. In this role he works on our strategic market positioning and ensuring our business continues to evolve as the industry progresses. Prior to this Cosmo was a Senior Product Strategy & Development manager at LGIM, contributing to the design and delivery of new pooled products at LGIM, as well as driving the firm’s product strategy across its investment range. Cosmo joined LGIM in February 2017 from Aberdeen Standard Investments where he worked in the Product Development team. Prior to that, he was an Investment Analyst in Mercer’s Investment Consulting Business where he advised pension fund and insurance clients on their investment strategy and manager selection. Cosmo graduated from Bristol University and holds an MEng in Civil Engineering. Cosmo also holds the IMC.

Court Gilbert

Court Gilbert is a Senior Credit Analyst with responsibility for covering basic materials, energy and construction materials. Court joined LGIM in 2015 from Allstate where he held the title of Senior Credit Analyst with responsibility for covering investment grade and high yield metals and mining, homebuilders and building products as well as investment grade autos and transportation across developed and emerging markets. Prior to joining Allstate’s credit research team in 2008, Court worked in the Commercial Mortgages group. Prior to joining Allstate, he spent over two years as an auditor for Reznick Group PC (now CohnReznick), a US-based public accounting firm. Court graduated from Wake Forest University with a B.S. in Finance and M.S. in Accounting. He holds an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, is a certified public accountant and CFA charterholder.

Dan Lustig

Dan is a senior credit analyst covering financial institutions in the Pan-European Credit Research team. Dan joined LGIM in August 2011 after spending over five years as Head of Investment Research at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust International where he focused on European and US financials and hybrid instruments. Prior to that, Dan was an equity fund manager at Lloyds TSB Private Banking focusing on insurance, telecoms, utilities and industrial sectors. His previous professional experience includes roles in equity research and engineering. Dan holds an MBA from Rotterdam School of Management (Erasmus University) and a BSc in Computer Science, Statistics and Operation Research from Tel-Aviv University. He is a CFA Charterholder.

Dapo Ogunbiyi

Dapo joined LGIM in February 2017 as an associate focused on infrastructure debt in the Private Credit team within our Real Assets division. Prior to this, Dapo worked for Lloyds Banking Group in its capital markets area, having started out as a graduate with the bank in 2013. Dapo graduated from Imperial College with an MEng in Mechanical Engineering, has completed the CFA programme and is currently enrolled on the Executive MBA programme at Cass Business School. In his spare time Dapo enjoys going to the gym, playing and watching a variety of sports, travelling, and most important of all, baking.

Daria Kuzina

Daria is a bit of scribe; within her first month in the team she diligently wrote a ‘War and Peace’ about best practices. At times it’s like she lives a double life: some believe she is very risk averse, preferring to garden, play piano or paint over the weekends, while others know her for her surfing or parachuting escapes. The truth is that she likes to practise what she preaches, and lives a diversified life.

Dave Barron

Dave leads the London based Index Equity team by overseeing portfolio management strategy, working on product development, and creating innovative rules-based client solutions. Prior to joining LGIM, Dave was based in the US where he worked at Northern Trust and BNY Mellon focusing on creating derivative based client solutions as well as managing index and ETF portfolios. In his spare time Dave likes exploring the impossible, so when he isn't reading about the latest multi-factor strategy he is reading books on chaos theory and quantum physics.

David Jackson

David joined LGIM in 2019 from Paradigm Capital (Munich), where he was a Generalist Equity Analyst for a concentrated portfolio of European stocks, applying fundamental research with a value focus. Prior to that, he was a Captain in the British Army, serving in the Queen’s Royal Hussars. David read physics at Worcester College, Oxford, graduating in 2007 and holds a Master’s in Finance from London Business School (2016).

David Patt

David is focused on LGIM’s UK and European corporate governance activity including voting, engagement and client reporting. He also monitors public policy, responding to government and industry consultations in order to position LGIM as thought leaders. A disciplined athlete, he devotes many hours a week to boxing and weightlifting.

Ed Wicks

Ed leads LGIM’s Global Trading team. The team is at the forefront of LGIM’s efforts to create better outcomes for clients through best execution. Prior to assuming this role, Ed oversaw the global equity trading team at LGIM. Ed joined LGIM in 2015 from BlackRock where he was responsible for designing and implementing trading strategies for the beta, LDI and transition groups. Prior to that he was a Delta 1 trader at J.P. Morgan, responsible for several index trading books and derivative market making activities. Ed graduated from Loughborough University and holds an MSc in Business Management as well as a BA (hons) in economics and politics.

Eleanor Jukes

Eleanor is the Senior Strategist within the LGIM Real Assets division. She is passionate about the healthcare and residential sectors, believing that quality care needs quality buildings - and that the opportunities to innovate within housing are boundless. Eleanor joined LGIM in 2014 from Schroders, having spent time honing her application of academic theory to the real world as an Economist at the start of her career . When she is not admiring bricks and mortar, Eleanor runs or cycles shin-shatteringly long distances. She also likes to combine the two in the niche sport of duathlon, at which she has represented Great Britain.

Emiel van den Heiligenberg

Emiel is responsible for the overall strategic direction of the team’s investment and business strategy. He claims to have been a promising lightweight rower at university until French fries got the better of him. Reflecting his love for rowing in a team, he firmly believes that excellence can only be achieved by a great team made up of motivated individuals that are also eager to work together. To this end he is the self-proclaimed inventor of the verb 'teaming' to acknowledge that shaping a top team and culture of excellence is an ongoing process. Outside of work-family obligations, Emiel’s spare time is filled by a passion for shark diving and skiing. Prior to dedicating his career to portfolio management in 1996, Emiel worked as a policy adviser in the Dutch Ministry of Finance and he graduated from Tilburg University in the Netherlands ages ago. When not glued to his Bloomberg screens, this Dutch man is hooked on computer games, peanut butter and his favourite dark beer made by Belgian monks.

Emma Cheung

Emma spends her time scouting out the next opportunity or tool that she can build to give her more time to focus on what matters: connecting with people. Always one to take the scenic route, she was a compliance officer and product specialist at Goldman Sachs Asset Management before travelling the world ahead of joining LGIM. Emma is a self-confessed foodie with an obsession for cleaning her desk. When not distracted by cake (or that smudge on her screen), you can find her behind a camera lens trying to capture the perfect shot.

Emma Douglas

Emma is responsible for developing LGIM's DC business and investment strategy. Emma joined LGIM in 2014 from Mercer where she was a partner and Head of Mercer Workplace Savings. Prior to that, she was Head of DC Sales at BlackRock and Head of DC Pensions at Threadneedle Investments, and has more than 20 years of experience in the investment management industry. Emma graduated from Trinity College, Oxford, and holds an MBA from Manchester Business School via a Women in Management Scholarship from the Guardian. Emma is a member of the PLSA DC Council.

Emma McLean

Emma joined LGIM in 2014 from Barclays, where she worked in fixed income distribution covering global hedge fund clients. Emma graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in Physics and Philosophy.

Enda Mulry

Enda joined LGIM’s Global Bond Strategies team in 2014 with a focus on global credit portfolio management. Prior to this he spent six years as a credit trader within LGIM’s Global Trading team where he held primary responsibility for trading euro investment-grade bonds and credit derivatives. He also had additional responsibilities for trading other credit markets as well as providing back-up for rates and currency markets. Prior to joining LGIM in 2008, Enda worked for four years as a money-market dealer and ABS credit analyst for DZ Bank in Dublin. Enda is a CFA charterholder and holds an MSc in material science, as well as a BEng and BA in maths from Trinity College, Dublin.

Enrico Faccioli

Enrico works as a research associate for LGIM Real Assets, where one of his principal roles is to identify new technologies and trends which may influence the business. He chairs the LGIM Real Assets’ technological innovation group. Outside of the office he’s very much involved with the London Tech scene as a startup mentor at TechItalia Lab and organiser of proptech and fintech events for Warwick Business School. He holds a MSc in Finance from Warwick Business School.

Erik Lueth

Erik identifies investment opportunities across emerging markets. He uses quantitative models, past experience and lots of common sense. Prior to joining LGIM, Erik worked for a hedge fund, a bank, and the IMF.

Fadi Zaher

Fadi is a master of many trades with his focus across Index, Asset Allocation and Factor Based Investing. This is probably no surprise given his financial experience in the past 14 years ranges from heading up Barclays Wealth’s Fixed Income unit and Kleinwort Benson’s Bonds and Currencies teams, to working at the European Central Bank and even a stint researching and lecturing in finance and econometrics in Sweden. When he’s not honing his financial CV, Fadi can be found in his garden, tending to his plants with a particular fondness for his mint collection.

Femi Bart-Williams

Femi focuses on working with our clients to implement LDI and broader solutions based investment strategies. Femi joined LGIM as a pension solutions structurer in 2009 before moving into the Strategic Investment and Risk Management (SIRM) team on its formation in early 2011. Femi joined LGIM in 2009 from Deloitte. Prior to this role he worked for P-Solve Asset Solutions. Femi graduated from the London School of Economics in 1999 with a first class honours degree in actuarial science and is a fellow of the Institute of Actuaries.

Firat Bayraktar

Firat is an Associate Portfolio Manager in the Euro Credit Team. He joined LGIM in August 2016 as a Fixed Income Credit Analyst, within the Global Fixed Income team, with a focus on financial institutions. Previously, Firat worked at Moody’s Investors Service where he was an analyst covering EMEA banks. Prior to that, he was an analyst at Citi Corporate & Investment Banking within the Financial Institutions team, following experience at Rothschild and Santander in mergers and acquisitions in Paris. He holds a Master’s degree from European Business School, Paris and he is a CFA charter holder.

Francis Chua

Francis is a fund manager and manager researcher, with a focus on fixed income and alternative investments. He draws parallels with football managers by looking for skill and consistency, while giving nothing away to the managers he meets. We certainly can’t tell what he’s thinking as he types away on his Dvorak keyboard (apparently non-QWERTY keyboards exist…!) Staying true to his Malaysian roots, he balances his steady day-to-day routine with a good dose of adventure abroad.

Gavin Launder

Gavin Launder is lead fund manager on the L&G European and UK Growth funds, where he manages in excess of £1billion in Pan-Euro assets. He has close to 30 years of investment experience, having joined LGIM in 2007 from BlueBay Asset Management where he was a Global Equities analyst. Gavin's vast experience incorporates a buy-side career, which includes time spent as a portfolio manager with UBS O’Connor. Gavin holds a degree in Philosophy and Economics from University College, London

Hetal Mehta

Hetal is an economist with a focus on the UK and Europe. She has worked for HM Treasury, Oxford Economics and Daiwa Capital Markets, but her real claim to fame is sharing a stage with Sir Ian McKellen. This love for drama is just as well given the excitement of keeping tabs on [insert latest European country]-xit. Away from work, you'll either find Hetal concocting culinary masterpieces (!) or punching the lights out at a HIIT class.

Honor Solomon

Honor is responsible for LGIM’s Retail Distribution team for EMEA. Honor joined LGIM in October 2014 from Blackrock (and its predecessor company Merrill Lynch) where she worked for nearly 15 years in London, Paris and New York. Roles included Equity Sales & Trading, Relationship Management within Global Markets and Investment Banking, Institutional Sales to Local Authority and Corporate Pension Funds and leading the team responsible for Blackrock’s relationships with private banks, stockbrokers

Howie Li

Howie leads the development and growth of the ETF business. Howie joined the investment manager from ETF Securities after the successful acquisition of the Canvas ETF business which completed in March 2018. During his time at ETF Securities for almost 10 years, Howie was most recently the CEO of Canvas after holding other positions including Head of Legal and Co-Head of Canvas. Prior to that, Howie trained and worked at Simmons & Simmons in London advising the hedge fund industry.

Ian Hutchinson

Ian manages LGIM's sterling credit investment grade portfolios and is lead manager for the over ten year strategy. Ian joined LGIM in 2004 and has previously worked for Insight Investment and Aviva Investors.

Iancu Daramus

Iancu joined LGIM in 2017 as a Sustainability Analyst. He brings an understanding of climate change to our company engagements and a passion for clear reasoning to our communications. He has worked for a leading environmental think-tank as well as the Cabinet Office, and has degrees in philosophy and public policy. An enthusiastic guitar player, he takes advantage of London’s music and art scene, though he has no tours currently scheduled.

Investment Stewardship team

Our Investment Stewardship team comprises professionals with experience in areas including responsible investment, corporate governance, and public policy. The team is made up of both sector specialists and experts on ESG themes, such as sustainability, and has a global remit with members in the UK, Japan and the US. The team exercises LGIM’s voting rights globally, holding companies to account. In 2020, LGIM cast over 138,600 votes at over 14,000 meetings.

James Carrick

James is a global economist with a knack for using analogies to explain economic concepts. He is a techno-optimist and an early adopter. He enjoys building models - both of the economy and robot Lego ones with his son. He also likes crunching data and chocolate bars. He joined in 2006 from the number-one ranked economics team at ABN AMRO with prior experience at HM Treasury.

James Odemuyiwa

James is a senior credit analyst within the Global Fixed Income team. He joined LGIM in 2011, and his sector coverage includes autos, industrials, transportation and healthcare. He is particularly interested in possible risks to credit investing from future mobility trends. As a fervent Newcastle United fan, James is well adjusted to considering potential downside which he believes makes him highly suited to a role in credit analysis!

Janice Wu

Janice has overall responsibility for LGIM's sales and marketing strategy in the Asia Pacific region. With over 20 years’ industry experience, Janice joined LGIM in July 2013 from State Street Global Advisors, where she was the Managing Director of SSgA Singapore and Head of Relationship Management for Asia ex Japan. With a focus on institutional clients including central banks, sovereign wealth funds and public pensions, she was responsible for managing client activities and the Singapore office. She has also worked at SSgA Hong Kong and BNP Paribas Asset Management Hong Kong. Janice graduated with a BSc in accounting from Golden Gate University, San Francisco.

Jennifer Wong

Jennifer joined LGIM in 2018 as an equity analyst from Bernstein Research, where she covered retail and luxury as a senior associate with a bottom-up, fundamental approach. Prior to that, she was an analyst at HSBC Investment Bank, focused on M&A/IPOs in the consumer and retail sector. Jennifer holds a BEng in chemical engineering (first class honours) from the University of Auckland, and is a CFA charterholder.

Jesal Mistry

Jesal is a Senior Business Development Director within L&G's DC team, working with advisers and their clients to help them access the best of L&G, i.e. a DC arrangement which delivers to an employer's and individual's needs, not just now, but always. Jesal joined L&G in June 2019, having spent 14 years as a DC consultant, specialising in DC scheme design, review and comparison of DC arrangements and DC investment strategy.

John Gray

John is an emerging-markets credit analyst with responsibility for helping to develop LGIM’s emerging-markets capabilities within the Global Fixed Income team. John joined LGIM in 2015 from The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) where he was a vice president within the EM Credit Trading team. Prior to joining RBS, John trained as a Chartered Accountant with PwC in Edinburgh before moving to South Africa with Ernst & Young.

John Roe

With failed football dreams behind him, John applies the same level of enthusiasm to investing and how to improve outcomes by battling behavioural biases. He leads on oil research, but also gets involved in a wide range of macro topics. That love of variety also explains his craft beer fascination. Hard to shut up, he’s a regular guest on Bloomberg, a conference speaker and an LGIM Director. His analytical thinking benefits from being an Actuary with an economics degree and having previously worked as a strategist at RBS.

John Southall

John works on financial modelling, investment strategy development and thought leadership. He also gets involved in bespoke strategy work. John used to work as a pensions consultant before joining LGIM in 2011. He has a PhD in dynamical systems and is a qualified actuary.

Jon Loach

Jon co-heads our specialist Strategic Client team, which looks after the evolving needs of LGIM’s largest UK clients. In addition to this, Jon also acts as Client Director to a number of strategic UK DB and DC clients. Jon joined LGIM in April 2015, having previously worked at several consultancies as an investment consultant and the primary adviser to several pension trusts. His work involved establishing and evolving his clients’ investment strategies.

Jonathan Constable

Jonathan joined LGIM as a senior credit analyst in October 2013 with lead responsibility for the utilities sector. Jonathan spent nearly five years as an equity research analyst at Nomura International where he focused on UK and Italian utilities. Prior to this he worked as a consultant with Ernst & Young for over four years, including advisory roles on UK infrastructure projects in the health sector. Jonathan holds an MA in mathematics from the University of Cambridge. He is a chartered accountant and CFA charterholder.

Jonathan Joiner

Don't be surprised if Johnny doesn't look like the photo above. This was taken before the birth of his first child when sleep wasn't deemed a luxury. Beyond running around after his daughter, Johnny loves to travel and eat out. This has led him to invent a new meal, Dinch (dinner/lunch), ideally timed for parents who want to eat out but are conscious of baby's bed time.

Jonathan Lawrence

Jonathan focuses on integrating ESG factors into the credit research process. Jonathan joined LGIM from BlackRock, where he worked as a Transitions Portfolio Manager, and prior to this within the Client Solutions practice focusing on bespoke investment solutions for UK pension schemes. Jonathan graduated from the University of Nottingham with an honours degree in Economics. Following this he earned an MSc in Finance and Development, with distinction, from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS). Jonathan also holds the Investment Management Certificate and is a CFA charterholder.

Jose Almonte

Joseph England

When I’m not geeking out on all things LDI I’m either hacking my way round a golf course or slowly learning French. I’m always happy to chat about pensions, markets and rugby.

Joseph Firth

Joe is an investment specialist across Asset Allocation but also covers Factor-Based Investing funds, so he loves anything big picture and anything rules-based, though the state of his desk would suggest otherwise…. As the only member of the team with a beard, this may be the reason people liken him to Vincent Van Gogh and everyone thinks he’s far older (and hopefully wiser) than he actually is(!) Since moving to London, Joe has been spreading the word that his home county of Derbyshire isn’t that bad. So far this message has fallen on deaf ears, with team members opting to holiday in other comparable destinations such as Barbados and Nicaragua.

Josh Logan

Josh originally joined the team in June 2016 as an intern and saw drama from the outset, with week one of his career in finance seeing the UK vote to leave the EU. Josh re-joined the Fund Management team in 2018 having graduated from the University of Bath with a degree in maths. Josh’s desire for adrenaline kicks leads him to do things such as skiing, cycling and collapsing during half marathons.

Justin Onuekwusi

Justin secretly pretends to be a rockstar as he travels around the country promoting his funds with his signature red tie, and was even chased across a field by some fans (dogs) as he went for a run one evening. When he’s not in the office squinting intensely at his fund spreadsheets or into a camera, Justin dedicates time to his true love: Manchester United, and catches up on the latest Netflix series on the side.

Karen Ng

Karen is responsible for LGIM’s cashflow matching strategies within portfolio solutions. Karen joined LGIM in 2018 from Fidelity International where she held the title of Investment Specialist. She focused on emerging-market debt and Asian investment-grade strategies in fixed income investments. She contributed to expanding the Asian fixed income franchise and engaged clients in both institutional and wholesale channels.

Kim Brown

Kim joined Legal & General as Pension Scheme Director in February 2020 and reports to the Independent Chair of the Mastertrust and Independent Governance Committee. Before that, she worked for the Pensions Regulator for 12 years, most recently as the head of master trust authorisation. Kim is a member of NextGen and a trustee of the LGBT Switchboard.

Lan Wu

Lan is a euro credit portfolio manager in the Pan European Credit team, having joined LGIM in September 2010 as assistant to the fund manager. Previously Lan was at Hedge Funds Investment Management where she worked as a part-time research analyst in their Investment team. Prior to this, Lan completed internships with China Lion Securities in China, in their investment banking department, and with UBS, London where she worked in their fixed income, currencies and commodities division. Lan holds a MMath in Mathematics and statistics from Oxford University as well as an MSc in Finance at Imperial College London. Lan is a CFA charterholder.

Lars Kreckel

Lars is not your average German: he owns the house he lives in, has two children and drives Japanese cars (one electric). Maybe that’s also why he covers equities rather than bonds?

Lawrence Chir

Lawrence is responsible for the portfolio management of LGIM’s Index Plus funds. Lawrence joined LGIM in 2019 from BlackRock where he held the title of Index Plus Portfolio Manager. Lawrence was a Portfolio Manager at BlackRock for 10 years focusing on developed and emerging-market index arbitrage. Prior to that, he spent two years as a Senior Analyst in the Investment Accounting department of Barclays Global Investors. Lawrence holds a BSc in Geology from Durham University (2003) and is a CFA Charterholder.

Louise Parsons

Louise manages client relationships with a focus on defined benefit pension schemes. She joined the team from a similar role at Somerset Capital Management LLP. When not entertaining clients, she is likely to be found entertaining friends or working on her home construction project.

Luca Ramotti

Luca joined L&G ETF in February 2019 as an analyst within the ETF Investment Strategies team. He actively contributes towards the design of investment strategies and supports the ETF distribution and marketing efforts. Prior to joining LGIM, Luca worked as an ETF research analyst at Société Générale and Lyxor ETF, and within the Index Strategy team at Standard and Poor’s Dow Jones Indices. He holds an MSc in Management jointly awarded by ESCP Europe and City University of London.

Madeleine King

Madeleine joined LGIM in 2015 from Credit Suisse where she worked as a credit trading desk analyst for five years. Prior to that, she was a TMT research analyst at HSBC and Barclays Capital. Madeleine graduated from the London School of Economics and holds a first class BSc in Business Mathematics and Statistics.

Magdalena Polan

Magdalena is a global emerging markets economist. She joined in 2016 from Goldman Sachs; before that she worked at the IMF, focusing on indebted or crisis-stricken economies. She is an interdisciplinary thinker who believes that financial and economic events cannot be understood without seeing their political or social background. In her free time, she pursues her interests in current events, arts (including martial arts) and photography.

Marc Rovers

Marc is head of the euro credit portfolio management team. He joined LGIM in May 2012 as a portfolio manager in the Pan European Credit team. Marc previously spent 12 years at BlackRock, first as a senior portfolio manager within Philips Investment Management in Eindhoven and then as Director, Investment Manager in London, where he was responsible for the management of non-financial investment grade portfolios and a portfolio manager for two Asian credit portfolios. Marc started in the industry in 1995 as a portfolio manager at ABP investments (now APG). He graduated from Tilburg University, Netherlands with an MSc in economics and is a Certified European Financial Analyst (CEFA).

Maria Larsson Ortino

Maria leads the Stewardship team’s efforts on health as well as being responsible for global engagement and voting activities for holdings within the pharmaceutical, biotech, healthcare, chemicals and tobacco sectors. Prior to joining LGIM in 2019, Maria was a member of the ESG teams at Newton Investment Management and State Street Global Advisors. She has also headed up the research team at a start-up corporate governance data company, served as an analyst within the IVIS team, part of the Investment Association, UK. She started her ESG career at PIRC, a proxy adviser, in 2007. Maria has an LLB from Queen Mary College, University of London and a Master’s Degree from the Graduate Institute of International Studies, University of Geneva, Switzerland.

Marija Simpraga

Marija is the Infrastructure Strategist in LGIM's Real Assets division. She is passionate about infrastructure as an asset class that underpins sustainable economic development. Marija joined LGIM in 2017 from Bloomberg Intelligence, where she covered the European utilities sector. When not pondering the energy transition, Marija can be found wondering around London's vintage furniture markets.

Marion Plouhinec

Marion joined LGIM’s Investment Stewardship team in 2016. She is responsible for ESG engagement with LGIM’s investee companies in the transport and travel & leisure sectors globally. Her areas of focus are corporate governance in Europe, ESG disclosures and market-wide ESG transparency issues. Marion also represents LGIM on the 30% Club investor France, which seeks to encourage our investee companies towards greater gender diversity below board level. She holds the Investment Management Certificate (UK CFA institute), an MA in Law from the University of Bristol and a Bachelor of Laws from the Catholic University of Lille, France.

Mark Benstead

Mark is the Head of Pan European Credit with responsibility for sterling and euro investment-grade credit teams. He is the lead fund manager on the sterling flagship retail funds. Mark joined LGIM in 2014 from AXA Investment Managers where he held the title of Head of Credit, UK. Mark was closely involved with AXA’s successful entry into the buy and maintain credit strategy as well as delivering above-target performance on a range of segregated and annuity funds. Prior to that, he was at the Royal Bank of Canada in a variety of senior capital market roles, latterly as Managing Director, Head of Syndicate and European Debt Capital Markets. Mark graduated from the University College of North Wales with a BA (hons) in Economics in 1984 and from the University of Bradford Management Centre with an MBA in 1985. He also holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Mark Johnson

Mark is responsible for LGIM’s institutional client teams. Mark joined LGIM in 2017 from BlackRock where he was a managing director with responsibility for the closed end fund and charities business. Prior to that he was responsible for iShares UK sales having previously been head of UK Strategic pension clients. Mark graduated from the University of East Anglia with an LLB (Hons) degree in Law.

Mark Vickery

Mark is responsible for managing and developing relationships with a number of LGIM's large defined benefit and defined contribution pension schemes and corporate clients. He also has a specialist role focusing on liability risk management. Mark joined LGIM in January 2010 from Insight Investment where he was an associate director in the Institutional Business Development team. His key focus was the development of the risk management, fixed income and diversified asset/absolute return business. Prior to that, he worked at Henderson Global Investors, latterly working on the Global Listed Property team. Mark graduated from Anglia Ruskin University with an honours degree in business and French and holds the Investment Management Certificate.

Martin Dietz

Who is Martin? The phrase “The power of German engineering” comes to mind. His focused work ethic on managing investments has earned him a spot on the Financial News’ 40 under 40 rising stars and his funds have received numerous awards. The only other thing Martin wants to share is that he has a PhD (summa cum laude).

Martin Reeves

Martin runs a team of high-yield professionals focused on global opportunities. He joined LGIM in September 2011 from AllianceBernstein, where he worked for 13 years. Martin was a founding director of the European High Yield Association and was Co-Vice Chair of the Association for Financial Markets in Europe’s High Yield Board. He qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young and gained a MA from St Catharine’s College at the University of Cambridge, where he read Economics.

Matt Soffair

Matt is responsible for LGIM’s research into UK retail and leisure real assets. Matt joined LGIM in August 2018 from the retail and property consultancy, CACI, where he held the title of Managing Consultant and was head of leisure consultancy. At CACI, Matt worked with over 45 retail and leisure operators over seven years to inform their property, merchandising and consumer engagement strategies. He was also responsible for leading CACI’s consulting offer in the grocery, leisure and CPG sectors.

Matthew Courtnell

As an responsible investment analyst, Matthew is focused on sustainability and is always looking for interesting thematic talking points alongside qualitative research to inform discussions with corporates and NGOs. Matthew joined LGIM in 2011 from boutique wealth management business Psigma Investments, where he worked as an equity analyst for four years. When not focused on equities, Matthew spends his time indulging in what he considers the finer things in life; as a man of contradiction, this sees him combine his love for Italian wine with a passion for listening to heavy metal music.

Matthew Kemp

Matthew is a Senior Investment Sales Manager at LGIM, and joined in January 2017 from Ashburton Investments., where he held the title of Head of UK Wholesale Distribution. He led the successful launch of four UK GBP Share class SICAVs. Prior to that he was a Partner - Sales at Smith & Williamson Investment Management, and has also worked at Standard Life Investments. Matthew graduated with a BSC (Hons) in Sociology from Kingston University.

Meryam Omi

Meryam is responsible for engaging on sustainability themes globally and development of responsible investment product solutions. She leads on the project to integrate environmental, social and governance (ESG) aspects into the fundamental research of mainstream funds and to carry out sector/theme specific engagements on key sustainability topics, such as climate change, water and corporate tax policy. Meryam has over 12 years of investment experience in asset management companies.

Michael Adefuye

Michael is a strategist in LGIM’s Real Asset division. With 13 years’ industry experience, he is responsible for research in the UK alternative real estate sectors, including Build-to-Rent and student accommodation.

Michelle Scrimgeour

Michelle was appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) in July 2019. Michelle has spent her career at major global firms and has extensive asset management experience across investments, distribution, product, operations, risk and control functions. Before joining LGIM, Michelle was Chief Executive Officer, EMEA, at Columbia Threadneedle Investments. Michelle is on the Board of the Investment Association and a member of the FCA’s Practitioner Panel, and is co-chair of the COP26 Business Leaders Group.

Mireille Bensimon

Mireille works as an Investment Analyst for the team, researching equity funds for the Multi-Manager funds. Mireille originally qualified as an accountant, honing her analytical skills within the firm's finance team. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, writing and music.

Mitul Patel

Mitul joined LGIM's Active Liability Solutions team in December 2018, having spent 12 years at Janus Henderson Investors, most recently as Head of Interest Rates. Mitul always felt destined to manage government bond portfolios, on account of sharing a birthday with the date that several gilts pay their coupons.

Moin Hussain

Moin joined the general insurance team in Birmingham with a plan in mind to join LGIM. He sent emails to the entire investment floor and shadowed LGIM investment teams. Six months later, Moin was successful in obtaining an internship within the LDI team. After that he managed to extend his tenure at LGIM with the ISM team. Now Moin work within the Valuations team.

Mykolas Padolskis

Myk works as a strategist within LGIM’s Solutions team, helping our clients implement LDI and broader solutions-based investment strategies. He joined LGIM in 2019 from Fidelity International where he was a graduate technology analyst. Myk graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.

Nelly Terekhova

Nelly is very keen salsa dancer by night and a senior LDI portfolio manager by day. She spends her days looking at the markets, designing portfolios for pension-fund clients, and training junior fund managers, and her evenings either dancing or planning her next trip. Nelly has an MSc (distinction) in Finance and Investment from Edinburgh University Business School and a BSc in Economics and Finance from the London School of Economics. Her other hobbies include being on stage – be it speaking at an international conference or doing a catwalk in a fashion show.

Nick Fisher

Nick is a strategist in LGIM's Real Assets division and prior to this was part of the long income property fund management team within LGIM Real Assets. Nick joined LGIM in August 2014 from Mercer’s Financial Strategy Group where he specialised in providing Asset Liability Management and investment strategy solutions to large defined benefit pension schemes. Nick is a CFA charterholder, and has an MSc in Finance from the University of Warwick and a BSc in Economics from the University of York.

Nick Stansbury

Nick is the Head of Climate Solutions at LGIM. Previously, he was Head of Commodity Research. Nick joined in 2013 as a Fund Manager in LGIM’s Global Equity team, focused on energy and natural resources. Prior to joining LGIM he was an Investment Director for Developed Asia and Global Emerging Markets at Standard Life Investments. He previously worked for an emerging market focused hedge fund investing in equities, convertible bonds and distressed debt. He has also worked in a corporate advisory role and as a software developer. Nick has a law degree (LLB.) and a Master’s in jurisprudence (MJur.), focused on securities law, from the University of Durham.

Oliver Cooper

Oliver joined LGIM Real Assets in January 2020 as a Graduate Research Analyst after having graduated with a BSc in Economics from the University of Bath. Within Real Assets, Oliver spent a year working for the Research Team, before rotating into the Real Estate Equity fund teams. Outside work, Oliver can be found battling with gravity in the gym, watching every televised football match, and nervously awaiting the inevitable retirement of Roger Federer.

Panagiotis Berdos

Panos is a Greek ex-commando sunseeker who absorbs as much sun as he can get at the weekend before unleashing it during the week to model anything you want. While skiing, sailing and swimming is his top priority whenever holidays are due, his real guilty pleasure is munching on his delicious homemade popcorn (just don’t ask him for his secret recipe). Mathematical minds can always come in handy; this one studied Mathematical Science for his Bachelor's degree while completing a part-time MSc in Mathematical Trading and Finance at Cass Business School while working full time with us.

Peter Finn

Peter joined the business in 2017 as a portfolio manager and his role has broadened in scope to lead the investment team as co-head with Sven Christen in January 2019. He is responsible for all portfolio management and operational aspects of the ETF platform. He obtained his CF30 FCA approval in 2013. Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in commerce, from University College Dublin. He completed his MSc in investment management at Cass Business School, where he graduated with distinction.

Rahil Ram

Born and raised in the land of sun and sea (Mauritius), Rahil has long convinced himself that London’s weather is beyond rationality. He qualified as an Actuary to satisfy his problem-solving appetite, and now applies the same rigour in the workplace. Since moving to London, he has gradually replaced his morning beach runs with evening gym visits. When not busy catching up with family and friends, Rahil enjoys karting and martial arts.

Rahul Bhushan

Rahul is a Senior ETF Product Specialist in LGIM’s ETF team. He joined LGIM in March 2018 from ETF Securities where he held the title of Director – Product Specialist (an ‘open-architecture’, European UCITS ETF platform). Rahul joined ETF Securities in 2016. Prior to that, Rahul worked as a Director of Structured Products at Portman Associates for three years and at Nomura as an Associate Director in Equity Derivatives/Systematic Strategies for three years. Rahul graduated from IE Business School and holds a Master in Finance. Rahul is fluent in Swedish, French and Hindi, and conversational in Spanish.

Raza Agha

Raza Agha joined LGIM as Head of Emerging Markets Credit Strategy in February 2019. He has over 17 years of experience in EM sovereign credit/macro research and strategy at commercial, investment, multilateral and central banks. Raza was most recently at VTB Capital in London where he was Chief Economist, Middle East and Africa, while also servicing internal clients on global emerging markets. He has previously worked with the Royal Bank of Scotland, Samba Financial Group, Bear Stearns, Central Bank of Pakistan, Abn Amro, and has been a consultant to the World Bank and Asian Development Bank. Raza graduated from Cornell University with two Master’s degrees in public administration and development policy. His undergraduate degree is in Economics from University College London.

Rebecca Fry

Rebecca has become the unofficial environmental, social and governance (ESG) aficionado of the UK Institutional team. Handily located near the water-cooler, her desk is the social hub of the Distribution group, where even the occasional Marketing colleague can be spotted. When not doing competitor analysis of green funds, Rebecca can be found watching Crystal Palace, her adopted team, or chilling out with xxxx

Rita Butler-Jones

Rita is Head of DC Sales and responsible for LGIM’s intermediated and direct-to-client sales efforts across bundled and unbundled products. Rita joined LGIM in December 2015 from Friends Life where she held the title of Business Development Director and was responsible for new business development within the Corporate Adviser Market. Rita has held a number of senior sales roles at competitor firms, and prior to that she was a DC Sales Consultant at Mercer.

Robert Pace

Robert works with clients on LDI and broader solutions-based investment strategy. His three Rs are rates, regulation and arithmetic (showing a maths degree lives on forever). When Robert is not pondering LDI or investment strategy and talking to clients, he can often be found cycling in the Surrey Hills or watching hours of cycling coverage on Eurosport (at 30x speed in order to prolong his marriage).

Robin Martin

Rob is Head of Research at LGP with responsibility for overseeing in-house forecasting and house views, the investment process, performance analysis and bespoke in-depth research projects. Rob joined LGP in October 2006. Prior to this as, he worked for Hammerson plc in the position of Head of Research where he worked closely with the Hammerson board and senior management team on corporate, sector and asset strategies. Prior to Hammerson, Rob was at CBI for two years as a senior economist, and prior to that, he spent three years in the petroleum industry. Rob has a degree in economics and economic history.

Rory Brown

That rare thing in asset management, Rory is a genuine millennial — just check his birth certificate. A stalwart of the International Distribution team, his passions include reporting and environmental, social and governance (ESG) integration!

Russell Jones

Russell is a Fund Manager within the Index Equities team where he is responsible for managing a number of global equity portfolios. He is a CFA charterholder and has an honours degree from the University of Birmingham. In his formative years Russell spent too much time pursuing a life in sport. However, after shattered football dreams and false cricket hopes he settled on his other passion in life; index fund management

Sacha Sadan

Sacha sits on the board of LGIM. In September 2016 he was recognised in the Financial Times as one of ‘the 30 most influential people in the City of London’, crediting him as one the leading architects of 2012’s “shareholder spring”. At LGIM Sacha has responsibility for investment stewardship, including environmental, social and governance (ESG) areas, collaborating with other investors as well as governments and regulators. He regularly speaks at major global industry events on topics such as diversity, climate change and shareholder rights. Sacha was previously a senior UK equity manager at Gartmore where he co-managed a range of UK equity hedge, retail and institutional funds. He was voted the top-rated Pan European fund manager in the Thomson Reuters Extel awards (known as the “City Oscars”) in 2010. He started his career at Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS). Sacha holds a BA (Econ) from Manchester University and is a Fellow of ICSA. Sacha is a founding member and still on the board of the UK Investor Forum.

Safwan Mir

Safwan joined LGIM in January 2021 from Lane Clark & Peacock, where he was an associate within the Investment Consulting team and advised a range of institutional investors on their investment strategies. Safwan graduated from Cass Business School in 2018, holds a BSc in actuarial science, and is studying towards becoming a fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Sarah Aitken

Sarah is Head of Distribution leading all distribution in Europe, the Middle East and Asia. Sarah reports directly to the CEO. She joined LGIM in 2014 from Insight Investment, where she held the title of Head of Distribution. Prior to that, she worked at Merrill Lynch Investment Managers and JP Morgan. Sarah started her career at Cazenove as a UK equity analyst. She graduated from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge University and has an MA in history.

Sarah Peasey

Sarah is an investment strategist for LGIM, contributing to macro idea generation across asset classes and investment strategies. Working closely with the CIO, she provides the investment perspective that supports product innovation and shapes client solutions. Prior to this, Sarah managed the fixed income product specialist team, driving and delivering client relationships and communication across the range of Global Fixed Income strategies. Sarah graduated from the University of East Anglia with a first class degree in business management and joined LGIM in 2010.

Shaunak Mazumder

Shaunak joined LGIM's Global Equity desk in 2014. His funds are high-conviction portfolios focused on fundamental bottom-up analysis. Shaunak joined from Asian Century Quest (a multi-billion dollar long/short equity hedge fund based out of New York, spun out of Maverick Capital) and has over a decade of buyside experience. Shaunak started his career in investment banking at Morgan Stanley.

Silvio Corgiat Mecio

Silvio works in the Solutions Group and looks after the design and implementation of bespoke investment and risk-management strategies. Silvio leads LGIM’s ESG modelling framework: this covers internal ESG scoring and the integration of ESG themes into the index portfolio construction process. Prior to joining LGIM, Silvio worked in derivatives valuation roles for major financial institutions in Italy, Ireland and UK. He graduated with honours from the University of Turin with an MSc in Finance. He is a certified FRM and a CFA charterholder.

Simon Bell

Simon is a fund manager within the Active Fixed Income team, where he manages global rates portfolios. He joined LGIM in 2012 from Aberdeen Asset Management where he had a similar role, prior to which he was involved in LDI and trading, with a total of 20 years' investment experience. Simon graduated from Bournemouth University with a BA (hons) in Financial Services and holds the IMC.

Simon Chinnery

Simon is responsible for LGIM’s Defined Contribution Client Solutions, working as a DC specialist in the Institutional client team and with the DC and Investment teams to further develop our investment and retirement strategy. Simon joined LGIM in September 2016 from J.P. Morgan Asset Management where he worked as a senior relationship manager before acting as interim head of Institutional in 2009, then Head of UK DC.

Simone Nascimento

Simone is not your stereotypical Brazilian. A hard-to-read introvert (until she had some caipirinhas!) and a statistician by training, she feels more at home around numbers and models than in the spotlight. When not in her corner of the office, you can find her anywhere from Tokyo to Timbuktu, but more often in parts of the world her mother would rather she not visit.

Sonja Laud

Sonja is CIO of LGIM, having joined the business in January 2019 as Deputy CIO with responsibility for LGIM’s Solutions, Global Fixed Income, and Active Equity teams. Sonja joined from Fidelity International where she held the title of Head of Equity, responsible for the Global, Equity Income and UK Portfolio Managers as well as the Investment Director team.

Sophia Hunt

Sophia has worked in the finance industry for over 10 years and is a Fixed Income Investment Specialist covering Global High Yield Portfolios. Prior to this, she was a Portfolio Manager’s assistant across active fixed income portfolios. She joined LGIM in 2011 and graduated from the University of West England with an honours degree in Mathematics and Latin American Studies.

Stephen Message

Stephen joined LGIM in 2017 as a Fund Manager for the UK Equity Income portfolios. He joined LGIM from Old Mutual where he was responsible for the management of the Old Mutual UK Equity Income fund from 2009 until 2016. Prior to that, he was a Fund Manager at Bessemer Trust from 2006 until 2008. Stephen graduated from Imperial College London with a MEng in Aeronautical Engineering. He is also a CFA charterholder.

Steven Bolton

Steve is an investment manager in LGIM’s Corporate Private Credit team, covering a variety of borrowers across the UK and Europe. Steve joined LGIM in 2018 from Barclays Investment Bank, where he held the title of Vice President in the Private Capital Markets group. During this time Steve worked on over 40 debt private-placement transactions, raising over $10 billion of bespoke private capital for a variety of issuers. Prior to this, Steve worked in syndicated loans at Barclays where he arranged numerous club, syndicated and underwritten loan transactions. Steve holds a BSc in Accounting and Finance from the University of York and is a qualified corporate treasurer.

Stuart Briscoe

Stuart joined LGIM in September 2018 from ICM Investment Management, where he was an equity analyst covering emerging markets. Prior to that, he held analyst roles at Sarasin & Partners and Henderson Global Investors. Stuart graduated from Warwick University with a BSc in Economics. He is a CFA charter holder and has also achieved the CFA UK Certificate in ESG Investing.

Stuart Murphy

Stuart has overall responsibility for the onboarding of new corporate pension customers and the long-term relationship management of Legal & General’s corporate pension customers. Stuart manages the relationships with Legal & General Mastertrust Trustees & Independent Governance Committee and is chair of the DC User Group.

SuAnn Song

Su focuses on developing investment solutions and thought leadership for DC clients. She joined LGIM in January 2019, having previously been an investment consultant at PwC, where she worked with pension funds, charity and university clients in formulating investment strategies and portfolio modelling.

Tim Armitage

Tim is a former musician reincarnated as a quantitative strategist, and subsequently spends more time writing code than songs these days. When not thinking about swaption strategies and risk indicators, you’ll find him running marathons, and secretly hoping there’s a day his three sons form a band that becomes the next Kings of Leon.

Tim Drayson

Tim keeps a close watch on global economic developments, with a particular focus on the US. He believes nothing good ever happens after midnight, which is why he is rarely spotted out late. Tim joined in 2008 from the number-one ranked economics team at ABN AMRO, with prior experience from HM Treasury, and graduated with a MSc from the University of Nottingham. When not crunching economic data, he can be found studying the weather forecast, analysing his cycling statistics or looking anxious on three-foot putts.

Tobias Merfeld

Tobias joined LGIM as an ETF Investment Strategist in 2019.

Tom O'Gorman

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Uday Patnaik

Uday is responsible for developing LGIM’s emerging market capabilities within the Active Fixed Income team. Uday joined LGIM in April 2014 from Gulf International Bank (UK) Ltd where he held the title of Chief Investment Officer with primary responsibility for managing the flagship EMD hedge fund and other fixed income portfolios. Prior to that, Uday set up the Bear Stearns’ Eastern European sovereign trading desk in London, and at Merrill Lynch in New York helped manage the firm’s Latin America exposure and build the institutional customer base. Uday has an MBA in finance from the University of Chicago and a BSc degree in industrial management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Veeral Gandhi

Veeral joined LGIM in 2015 and is an Analyst for the Asian Income portfolios. Most recently Veeral was a Research Analyst at Amiya Capital, an Emerging Markets Hedge Fund where he had research responsibility for a number of sectors across the emerging countries within Asia. Prior to this, Veeral was a sell-side Analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein where he covered the telecoms and semiconductor sectors. Veeral graduated with a first class degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics from Oxford University. He also studied Behavioural Economics at Harvard University and is a CFA charterholder.

Veronica Humble

Veronica is responsible for LGIM’s Defined Contributions research and development. She's interested in all aspects of DC and retirement investment strategy and decision-making. She also spends a lot of time looking at long-term demographic trends and what they mean for our clients. Veronica has an MSc in mathematics and a PhD in statistics.

Wei Yang

Wei is the Index Investment Specialist working on index research and development and on creating index solutions for investors. Wei has a CV that ranges across several different areas of the financial markets, including roles in Investment Advisory at Barclays Wealth and Solution Consulting at Moody’s Analytics. Outside work, he is developing a keen interest in African adventures and is a devoted Bon Jovi fan.

Willem Klijnstra

Willem is a stubborn Frisian, allegedly a descendant of an obscure hero resistance fighter called Grutte Pier (ca. 1480-1520). While in the office his focus is on currency movements; at home he does most of the moving as he chauffeurs his three young kids around. Mister currency is a sporty character with a balanced lifestyle – he enjoys burning lots of calories as much as he enjoys family sized bags of M&Ms.

William Miners

Will is one for the Asset Allocation history books, becoming our first ever intern to write a blog post. He spends most of his time attending average football matches, dreaming of masters degrees abroad and being on hand to help out fund managers. We are lucky to have him on a 13-month loan deal from the University of Bath.

Yasmine Svan

Yasmine is a sustainability analyst, helping to integrate ESG into LGIM’s investment processes, and is focused on the firm’s corporate climate change engagements.