Resolution Asset Management has appointed Tim Sweeting to the newly-created position of head of alternatives, reporting to sales and marketing director Jonathan Polin and taking responsibility for the global distribution of the firm's alternatives products as it seeks to expand its role in this area.

Sweeting, who has more than 20 years' experience in financial markets, joins Resolution from Credit Suisse, where he was a managing director and head of distribution for absolute return strategies in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Previously he was head of sales for Europe and Middle East at DB Absolute Return Strategies, a division of Deutsche Asset Management. Sweeting has also held senior positions at UBS O'Connor and HSBC Investment Bank.

Last month Resolution announced that the asset management business created by its merger with Axial Investment Management, which had GBP75bn in assets at the end of June, would be rebranded Ignis Asset Management from November. The change of name is part of a strategy designed to make the business one of the top five asset managers in the UK.

'Alternatives will be a key area for the business as we move forward and it is essential that we have the right people and structure in place to support our ambitious growth plans in this area,' Polin says.

'Tim brings a wealth of experience in the alternatives space and his appointment will be crucial to our success in gaining market share in this increasingly important area of the industry.'