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BGI announces new senior appointments and management changes

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Barclays Global Investors (BGI), one of the world’s largest asset managers has appointed several new senior staff and made some management changes.


Malcolm Leigh,

Barclays Global Investors (BGI), one of the world’s largest asset managers has appointed several new senior staff and made some management changes.


Malcolm Leigh, formerly the UK Chief Executive Officer at Tactical Global Management, joined BGI in October as Managing Director of Global Market Strategies Group (GMSG) in London. GMSG is a key building block for BGI’s hedge fund business, which with USD 12 billion in assets under management is one of the largest institutional hedge fund businesses globally.


Nico Marais moved from San Francisco to London in late September to take the role of Head of Investment Strategy for the UK & European Active Equity Group. and along with it responsibility for investment strategy for active equities in London, as well as partnering with research and portfolio management to ensure that BGI’s strategies encompass the best of the firm’s and the industry’s insights. Nico was previously a US active equity investment strategist in BGI’s offices in San Francisco.


Michael Melvin joined BGI on 1 August  as the Director of Currency Research based in San Francisco. He is responsible for BGI’s currency and asset allocation strategies, bringing new ideas into both the developed and emerging market currency models, with a particular focus on developing new economic insights. BGI’s currency management business currently manages GBP 43,516 million in currency assets with GBP 22,693 million managed on an active basis. Heading this highly successful team, Melvim will play a key role in keeping it at the cutting edge of investment research and implementation.


Neil Purvis, formerly of CSFB, has been appointed Head of Human Resources Europe. “The more BGI people I meet, the more I realise that we have an exceptional pool of talented individuals which we will continue to grow aggressively as our business expands,” he says. “BGI already is the employer of choice across the industry and that is a fantastic position to be in today.”
 
Mark Stockley was appointed Head of Cash Sales in October and takes charge of a newly established distribution team of five within the Financial Institutions Group. He joined BGI from JP Morgan where he was head of International Liquidity Funds. BGI currently enjoys an 11 per cent market share of cash management services and offshore money market funds in Europe and is well positioned in a market that is forecast to more than double over the next couple of years. As of the end of October 2005 BGI managed GBP 87 billion cash assets globally and GBP 23 billion cash assets across Europe.


Mike Walsh joined BGI earlier this month as Europe Chief Financial Officer with responsibility for Finance and Corporate Services. He was formerly with Deutsche Asset Management where he was Chief Financial Officer for the UK, investment management, and institutional divisions.


“Barclays Global Investors is a dynamic organization focused on key strategic initiatives, and has seen some outstanding financial results from all parts of the firm so far this year,” says Nigel Williams CEO Europe. “As can be seen from the wealth of talent that is joining the business, we are committed to re-investing heavily in key areas of the firm, to support research, new product development and distribution expansion.”


In a separate development, Matthew Annable, BGI’s Chief Investment Officer Europe, Active Equities, who is responsible for the firm’s Active Equity Strategies for clients in the UK and continental Europe, has decided to sep down from his position next year. His responsibilities include equity portfolio management and the development of stock selection and asset allocation processes. Annable joined BGI in 1987 and after many successful years at the firm he is now said to be seeking a lifestyle change.


“Matthew has been at BGI for many years and has made some significant contributions to the business, most notably in the development of stock selection and asset allocation processes,” says Minder Cheng, Global Chief Investment Officer, Active Equities and Global Head of Equity and Currency Trading. “We respect his decision and we are particularly pleased that he has agreed to be available to BGI throughout 2006 in a capacity which will enable him to share his expertise and contribute to the success of the business.


“Matthew’s departure is taking place in a very structured way and I am leading the search to find his replacement,” adds Cheng. There will be a transition period during which a smooth handover will take place. Succession planning is something we take very seriously at BGI. We have already initiated the search process and have begun conversations with some very strong candidates.”


Background notes: Barclays Global Investors (BGI) is one of the world’s largest asset managers providing structured investment strategies such as risk-controlled active strategies and indexing. In the US, BGI is one of the largest active managers, set apart by its risk-controlled approach. BGI manages assets for two-thirds of the world’s 100 largest pension plans and is the global leader in assets and products in the exchange traded funds through its iShares brand with more than 134 ETFs. The firm managed over USD 1.4 trillion in assets as of 30/06/2005, for more than 2,700 clients in 48 countries around the world. BGI is an innovator in investment management, applying science and technology to the investment process. BGI is owned by Barclays PLC, one of the world’s leading global financial services providers.


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