Cayman Islands-based fund management group Managing Partners, which specialises in managing portfolios of traded life policies, has appointed Pierre Capitaine as head of institutional sales, responsible for the company's institutional business throughout Europe.

Capitaine, who will be based in Geneva and report to managing director Jeremy Leach, has worked in the investment industry for more than 20 years, starting in the late 1980s as a ring trader at the Geneva stock exchange and later working with a number of high-profile Swiss banks. He was previously head of private and professional customer development at Flight Asset Management.

'Pierre has a strong background in the investment industry and was the natural choice for this role,' Leach says. 'He brings a wealth of experience to the position and I am delighted that he will be adding fresh impetus into an area in which we have already experienced strong growth.'

Adds Capitaine: 'Traded life policies are a new and unique asset class which offer institutional investors low volatility and smooth predictable returns. These unique qualities have meant that over the last 10 years the TLP market has grown exponentially from USD50m to more than USD10bn. The appetite for TLPs among institutional investors remains extremely strong and I look forward to helping to build on the company's already extensive pool of investors.'

As well as managing bespoke portfolios for institutions, Managing Partners also offers the Traded Policies fund, which is available in sterling, euros and US dollars and targets an annual return of 9 per cent net of all charges. Registered in the Cayman Islands, the fund is structured for institutional investors, carries no initial charge and has an annual management fee of just 0.3 per cent. The firm manages various collective investment schemes and regulated mutual funds with total assets in excess of USD100m.