Law firm Bressler, Amery & Ross has promoted hedge fund lawyer David I Hantman to partner. Hantman joined the firm in September 2007 and was promoted to Counsel in January 2017. His primary area of practice is securities litigation and arbitration. He represents broker-dealers and registered representatives in these forums, as well as in investigations and regulatory enforcement actions and plays a central role in leading the firm’s expungement practice. Hantman has also been instrumental in defending funds against such investor claims as misrepresentation, fraud and unsuitability.    Prior to Bressler he served as a risk mitigation consultant and as

Commcise, a provider of integrated commission management, research evaluation and reporting solutions for investment management firms, has appointed Melissa Umans (pictured) as Director of Business Development in the firm’s New York Office.  In this newly created role, Umans will focus on growing existing relationships and expanding the Commcise presence in the US. Having previously worked at IHS Markit and Goldman Sachs, Umans brings significant expertise in Research Payment Account management, Commission Sharing Agreement aggregation, interaction management and broker evaluations. Umans says: “I’m extremely pleased to join a team of highly skilled and talented individuals who understand the industry and how recent

National law firm Seward & Kissel has promoted Debra Franzese to partner, effective 1 January, 2018. “Debbie’s promotion is extremely well deserved, and we are thrilled to welcome her into the firm’s partnership,” says Seward & Kissel Managing Partner Jim Cofer. “Time and time again, Debbie has proven her dedication not only to the success of our firm, but to the success of the investment management clients she serves. We are confident her leadership skills and unique perspectives will continue to progress in this new role.”     Franzese, who has spent her entire legal career at Seward & Kissel, is a member of the

Sadis & Goldberg has expanded its private equity, investment funds and corporate practices with the addition of partner Paul J Marino (pictured) who advises national and multinational hedge funds, private equity funds and corporations, ranging from telecommunications to technology companies, as well as commercial real estate investors and investment advisers.   Marino has considerable experience in the financial services industry, having organised and represented hedge funds, private equity funds and corporate entities in connection with various matters including corporate transactions and mergers and acquisitions. “Sadis, like Marino Partners, focuses on superlative client service and excellent work product, and that quality, combined

Stroock has promoted 11 lawyers to partner and special counsel effective 1 January. The new class underscores Stroock’s broad and deep capabilities throughout multiple practice areas, including real estate, litigation, corporate, private funds, financial services, intellectual property and environmental law. The elevated lawyers – six partners and five special counsel – are resident in the firm’s New York, Los Angeles and Miami offices.   “The 2018 class represents a good snapshot of our key strengths and demonstrates the breadth of solutions we provide for our sophisticated clients,” says Jeffrey Keitelman (pictured), Stroock’s co-managing partner. “Each of these lawyers has achieved

Alternative assets platform CoInvestor has made three senior hires to its client team to bolster the rapid adoption of its software as a service for financial advisers and fund managers. The company has appointed Darren Fletcher formerly at Intelliflo, a supplier of financial adviser software; Ella-Louise Houghton from Thomson Reuters, and Declan Blackwood from Coutts, the private bank. The expertise they bring from financial services and technology will further enhance CoInvestor’s ability to provide innovative solutions to meet the challenges advisers and investors face.   Launched at the end of 2015, CoInvestor is transforming the management of alternative assets by

Gresham House, the specialist alternative asset manager, has appointed Simon Stilwell as a Non-Executive Director effective 18 December 2017. With over 20 years’ experience in the City, Stilwell was, until 2015, Chief Executive of Liberum, the investment bank that he co-founded in 2007. Prior to Liberum, Simon was Head of Sales for Small Companies at Collins Stewart plc and was also a Director at Beeson Gregory Limited. Stilwell is currently CEO of Vitesse Media Plc, an AIM listed digital media and events business.   Stilwell replaces Peter Moon who is stepping down from his position on the Board of Gresham

SYZ Asset Management, the institutional asset management operation of the SYZ Group, has appointed Thierry Cherf as Head of Institutional Sales for Switzerland, and Mr Sachin Sukthankar as Institutional Client Developer. Based in Geneva and reporting to Florent Guy-Ducrot, Head of Business Development, Cherf will be responsible for defining and implementing the strategy to increase SYZ Asset Management’s engagement among Swiss institutional clients such as pension funds and insurance companies. SYZ Asset Management will continue to meet the needs of this important investor group through its offering of pooled funds, mandates and other customised solutions.   Reporting to Cherf and

Outsourced investment office Partners Capital has added to its senior management team with the promotions of David Shushan and Toby Joll from Managing Director to Partner. Four other promotions from Senior Principal to Managing Director were announced. This takes the firm to 17 Partners and Managing Directors, led by Stan Miranda as Founder and CEO.   Based in Boston, Shushan was promoted to Partner. Shushan joined Partners Capital in 2008 from McKinsey & Company and is responsible for the firm’s US Taxable Client Strategy as well as managing many of the largest US private client accounts.   Also being promoted

Northern Trust has hired Edwin Chan (pictured), to spearhead sales across the alternatives fund sectors in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Reporting to John Grundy, institutional sales manager for Northern Trust’s Corporate & Institutional Services (C&IS) business in EMEA, Chan will focus on further accelerating the growth of specialist alternative asset servicing capabilities across private equity, real estate, infrastructure, renewable energy and debt funds.   “We are delighted to announce Chan’s appointment as we continue to expand our capabilities and our leadership in our alternatives business, which supports over USD1 trillion in assets on behalf of global asset managers