Aegon has appointed Aviva’s “battle-hardened platform boss” Tim Orton, who left the firm in January 2019 following the platform’s technology issues.
Orton joins Aegon as its managing director of investments having held a number of senior roles in the investments, life and the pensions industry over the last two decades. He most recently held the position of managing director of savings at Aviva UK. He was also chief executive of Aviva’s wrap platform from 2014.
In his new role, he will be responsible for the delivery and development of its investment proposition both in the retail and workplace markets.
Aviva’s rocky platform transition
Orton left Aviva following a difficult 2018 for the platform after it moved to technology provider FNZ and was unavailable for six days.
“Aviva had a rocky platform transition but upgraded technology was necessary and it has gone some way towards reversing the reputational damage that it suffered,” said Platforum head Jeremy Fawcett.
“Aegon knows all about the perils of replatforming and will value the experience of a battle-hardened platform boss like Tim Orton. The investment brief is important to Aegon which has asset management credentials with insured funds under their own brand as well as Kames in the group.”
Others were more critical of the appointment. “He presided over one disastrous migration so why not two,” said one person from the investment industry who did not want to be named.
Aegon push asset management
Orton joins Aegon in September and will be responsible for all aspects of investment proposition, operations and governance. He will report to managing director of digital solutions Mark Till.
Till said: “Tim joins at an exciting time for our investment business as we look to strengthen our investment capabilities, and in particular our proposition for the retail market.
“His broad experience will be extremely valuable and he brings with him a wealth of knowledge in investment platforms.”
Altus managing director Kevin Okell said Orton has some background at both Aviva Investors and with their platform so “knows what it’s like to run an investment arm alongside a platform”.
In May, Aegon launched its first Oeics range called the LF Aegon Multi-Asset funds which can be held in a pension, Isa or GIA wrapper.
