Vontobel has appointed Jean-Louis Nakamura as head of its sustainable equities boutique, replacing Hans Speich who is retiring.
Nakamura will lead Vontobel’s SFr15bn ($15.1bn) AUM sustainable equities boutique, which has 35 investment professionals based in Zurich, Milan and Hong Kong. The boutique offers solutions in sustainable emerging market equities, Swiss equities as well as impact and thematic investing.
Nakamura was most recently with Lombard Odier, where he spent 14 years including most recently as chief investing officer for Asia Pacific and chief executive office of the firm in Hong Kong. Previously, he was Lombard Odier Investment Managers’ head of multi assets and deputy global CIO in Geneva.
He started his career in the public sector. Between 1995 and 2003, he was senior economist at the French Treasury and deputy financial counsellor at the European Union Council. From 2003 to 2008, he was CEO and CIO of the Civil Service Pension Fund and the French Pension Reserve Fund, where he was responsible for strategic and tactical asset allocation.
He will report to Christel Rendu de Lint, deputy head of investments, in his new role.
“The appointment of Jean-Louis Nakamura reflects our commitment to our sustainable equities capabilities. I look forward to working with Jean-Louis. His strong investment background and experience in managing investment teams will help us to further develop the boutique at a time when sustainable investing is entering a new and exciting phase, in which investors look for innovative and transparent solutions,” said Rendu de Lint.
