UBP Asset Management, a fund-of-funds management company of Union Bancaire Privée, has appointed Daniel Kelly in New York as chief risk officer of alternative investment, a newly created position.

Kelly is an 18-year veteran of asset management, 17 of which he spent at Harvard Management where he was chief risk officer of the Harvard University endowment since 2005.

His appointment marks UBP's fourth major hire this year.
 
"Apart from his broad knowledge in alternative and traditional asset classes, Daniel has the unique experience of having conducted both in-house risk management and external manager-risk evaluation throughout his career. UBP will draw on his well-rounded, multidimensional insights in shaping our risk management platform," says Matthew Stadtmauer, chief executive officer of UBP Asset Management. “Daniel's hire demonstrates our devotion to the rigorous and disciplined management of risk, continually refined in order to benefit our clients' portfolios."
 
Kelly will oversee all aspects of UBP's global risk-management platform, serve on the firm's global investment committee of alternative investment and report to Stadtmauer. He will preside over the investment-risk management function, which entails analysing and assessing the underlying risks of the hedge funds in which UBP invests while managing the portfolio risks of UBP's funds of funds. UBP recently separated this function from the firm's portfolio management group, granting it full independence in order to ensure checks and balances within UBP's investment process.
 
Kelly joins UBP on the heels of three key hires in July and August: Sara Sprung was appointed chief investment officer of alternative investment following her tenure as chief risk officer of Fortress Investment Group's liquid markets business; Jonathan Morgan was tapped as head of research for alternative investments after serving as head of Barclays Global Investors' hedge fund management group; and Matt Auriemma, formerly the head of operational due diligence for Barclays Wealth, was hired to co-head UBP's alternative investment structural risk analysis division.
 
“I am excited to join a recognized leader in alternative asset management along with Sara, Jonathan and Matt,” says Kelly. “At this major crossroads for the global financial markets, I look forward to working with UBP’s talented team of professionals as we augment the firm’s risk-management practice and aim to set new standards for the industry at large.”