Just Fair & Direct (JFD) Group, a provider of electronic trading, prime brokerage and wealth management solutions, has opened an additional international office in Sophia-Antipolis, France. “Since its inception, JFD has secured a predominant position in Europe, notably across French and German-speaking markets”, says Cyril Tabet, Partner & CEO of JFD Group. “With this new office, we establish a presence in the heart of the largest European technology center to further enhance our state-of-the-art, cost-effective and risk-balanced algorithmic trading solutions powered by JFD Wealth, while moving closer to our European distributors and customers providing them with increased levels of support”.

Northern Trust has appointed Ali Sheikh as head of Hedge Fund Services, Asia-Pacific. “With record assets of USD5.3 billion raised in Asia, the hedge fund industry continues to evolve with service demands. Northern Trust understands the challenges and is uniquely positioned to cater to industry movements.”   Based in Hong Kong, Sheikh will be responsible for leading Northern Trust’s Hedge Fund Services business across the Asia-Pacific region. He reports to Peter Sanchez, global head of Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services.   “We are pleased that Ali will be leading our Hedge Fund Services Business in Asia-Pacific,” says Sanchez. “With record

Fund governance firm DMS Offshore Investment Services (DMS) has appointed Murray McGregor as Global Head of Structured Finance, to lead the company’s structured finance team. McGregor brings over 15 years structured and asset finance experience to DMS as an independent director, manager and business developer who has worked in multiple jurisdictions. He will also serve DMS as an independent director on the boards of structured finance vehicles, other special purpose entities and hedge funds.   "As DMS services are required more and more in the structured finance space, Murray's exceptional expertise and multi-jurisdictional experience will help us accelerate our growth

UMB Fund Services (UMBFS) has hired Michael Yanke as head of fund administration and Mackenzie Johnson as legal counsel in Milwaukee. Yanke is responsible for operations of UMBFS’ Milwaukee-based Fund Administration team, which services registered funds of all types. He will also establish and oversee fund administration compliance policies and procedures. He has nearly 30 years of experience in the fund industry.   “Michael brings an extensive knowledge of the industry to UMBFS,” says Terry Gallagher (pictured), executive vice president, director of fund accounting and administration. “Michael will assist in developing a strong team of fund administrators. We are excited

A month after being granted a licence to provide professional depositary services from its Luxembourg office, Elian has appointed Kerstin Lindgren (pictured) as manager of depositary services in the firm's funds depositary team.  Lindgren’s main focus will be to develop the depositary services offering for alternative investment funds in Luxembourg.  Lindgren has 15 years’ experience in the investment fund industry, particularly in depositary, global custody and stock lending services. She has previously held roles with Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken (SEB) in Stockholm and Luxembourg. Before joining Elian she was head of custody services at SEB SA, where she worked for more

New York-based alternative investment firm Angelo, Gordon & Co has appointed Jenny Morton (pictured) as a Managing Director, Head of Consultant Relations.  ”Angelo Gordon is excited to create this new position,” says Garrett Walls, Global Head of Marketing. “As the consulting firms we work with evolve it is very important to understand each individual firm’s needs and the needs of their clients. With Jenny’s 25-plus years in the industry, most of which has been focused working with consultants, she is well-equipped to address this challenge.”   Morton says: “I have known of and respected Angelo Gordon for many years and

The European Securities and Markets Authority has elected three new members to its Management Board to replace outgoing members whose terms expire in November this year. The election took place at the Board of Supervisors meeting in Luxembourg on 5 November and the successful candidates, who will serve a term of 2.5 years beginning on 1 December 2015, are: Lourdes Centeno, Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores (CNMV), Spain – new member; Klaus Kumpfmüller, Finanzmarktaufsicht (FMA), Austria – ending first term and re-elected; and Elisabeth Roegele, Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BaFin), Germany – new member.   The outgoing members were Kostas

The New York office of global law firm K&L Gates LLP has added Bruce MacLennan as a partner in the investment management, hedge funds and alternative investments practice. He joins K&L Gates from Holland & Knight LLP. MacLennan counsels clients on complex international business transactions with a focus on the structuring and formation of private investment funds, including private equity, real estate, venture capital, and hedge funds, as well as unique investment vehicles. He also advises on investments in private funds and on related transactions such as private equity and venture investment deals, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, strategic alliances,

Hawksford has boosted its corporate and private client offering with the promotion of two managers with over 40 years’ combined industry experience to associate director roles – Christine Simpson in the private client team and Sian Huish in the corporate team. Simpson, joined Hawksford as a manager within the private client team in April having previously worked for Capco Trust. She is a member of the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) with more than 25 years’ experience in the offshore finance industry. In her new role Simpson will have responsibility for driving Hawksford’s high standards of client service

Miki Sugimoto and Matthew Hannay have joined London-based hedge fund and long-only manager RWC Partners’ Global Horizon team, which is led by Louise Keeling.   Sugimoto brings over 10 years’ experience on the buy-side from Veritas, where she was an assistant fund manager to the Real Return Asia Fund, and Newton Investment Management where she was Director of Japanese Equity. She holds a BScEng in Computer Science from Imperial College London.   Hannay joins from Baillie Gifford where he worked for three years and spent time on the Global Income, Developed Asia Equities and North American Equities desks as part