UBS has appointed Blake Hiltabrand as global head of its single manager hedge fund boutique UBS O’Connor, with Bernard (Bernie) Ahkong and Casey Talbot being appointed as co-CIOs of the flagship Global Multi-Strategy portfolio.
The three appointments comes as Kevin Russell is set to step down as head and CIO of UBS O’Connor and leave the firm towards the end of the year after a successful 29-year career in the industry, including seven years at UBS.
Effective 1 October 2022, Hiltabrand, co-head of Event Driven Strategies and co-portfolio manager of UBS O’Connor’s Merger Arbitrage and Event Driven strategies, will become global head of UBS O’Connor, reporting to Barry Gill. He will continue to be based in Chicago. Hiltabrand brings extensive experience to his new role. He has worked at UBS O’Connor for over 15 years and is a senior member of UBS O’Connor’s Management Team and Capital Allocation Forum. Prior to joining the firm, he worked at Deephaven Capital Management, Amaranth Advisors and Goldman Sachs focusing on merger arbitrage and event driven strategies.
Ahkong, head of UBS O’Connor in Europe and portfolio manager for the European Long/Short Equity Team, will additionally be appointed co-CIO of O’Connor’s flagship Global Multi-Strategy portfolio. He will continue to be based in London and will report to Blake.
Ahkong re-joined the firm in 2016 from BlueCrest Capital, having previously been a portfolio manager at UBS O’Connor from 2006-2013, and has been a senior member of the UBS O’Connor Capital Allocation Forum for six years.
Talbot, currently head of the credit strategies for the Global Multi-Strategy portfolio, will also assume the additional role of co-CIO for the portfolio alongside Bernie. He will remain in Stamford and report to Blake. Talbot joined UBS O’Connor in 2013 from Deutsche Bank and has been a senior member of the UBS O’Connor Capital Allocation Forum for nine years.
