Cardano has appointed Roger Lord and Alberto Marone to its London-based team to strengthen the firm’s risk management capabilities.

Lord will be responsible for Cardano’s quantitative solutions and systems. He holds a PhD in Quantitative Finance and has done research on the pricing of exotic derivatives.

Previously Lord worked for Rabobank International in various roles, most recently supporting their exotic interest rate derivatives trading desk in London. Prior to starting his PhD, he worked in Cardano’s Rotterdam office.

Marone joins from fund of hedge fund firm, Globefin European Advisors. At Globefin he was a member of the investment committee and research team, covering a range of strategies including distressed and special situations. At Cardano, his role will include assessing equity and credit distressed strategies.

Ralph Frank, head of solutions at Cardano UK, says: “A key function of our role as a solvency manager is deciding which risks to take, whether asset or liability risks. Pension fund liability values surged in 2008 as interest rates fell. Roger’s experience with interest rates and in pricing derivatives provides valuable insights into protecting against such scenarios. The ‘credit crunch’ also presented an environment where many investment managers struggled. Alberto’s focus will be more at the ‘bottom up’ manager level. They will complement our existing capabilities in managing assets against liabilities.”

Cardano has also recently recruited Stewart Hardie to work in its London-based client team.

Cardano offers solvency management, risk management and investment advisory services.