Senior multi-manager Samouilhan will leave the business “to pursue another opportunity,” the firm said in a statement on Monday.
Samouilhan has been with the firm since 2010, joining from Investec Asset Management where he began his career.
During his time at the firm, he helped co-manage the multi-asset fund range alongside Paul Parascandalo, Thomas Wells and team leader Peter Fitzgerald, including the £2.4bn Aviva Investors Multi Strategy (AIMS) Target Income Fund.
Parascandalo and Wells will continue to run the multi-asset fund range.
Aviva Investors has also appointed Gavin Counsell as Samouilhan’s replacement on the AIMS Target Income Fund.
Counsell has been with the group for over five years, much of which was spent managing a range of sizeable multi-asset funds and working closely with the AIMS team since 2014.
Samouilhan’s departure from the firm coincides with the hire of Sunil Krishnan, who has been appointed to the newly created role of head of multi-asset funds.
Both appointments are part of the firm’s strategy to build its capabilities in multi-strategy and long-only multi-asset funds, said Fitzgerald, who added it has “plans to further strengthen the team”.
He will be based out of the firm’s London office and report to global head of multi-assets, Fitzgerald, come October.
Prior to joining Aviva Investors, Krishnan was a senior portfolio manager in charge of outcome-oriented funds and asset allocation strategy at Santander Asset Management.
His 15 plus years in the industry also includes roles as head of global asset allocation at Hermes Investment Management, head of market strategy at BT Pension Scheme and multi-asset manager at BlackRock, looking after both institutional and retail clients.
Commenting on the appointments, Fitzgerald said: “I am very pleased to welcome Sunil to Aviva Investors. It is a great sign of the ongoing success of our multi-asset proposition that we are able to attract someone of his calibre to our business.
“I am also pleased to welcome Gavin to the Target Income fund management team. In my time working with him, he has demonstrated great skill and brings a strong performance record that will be highly beneficial as we continue to grow the fund.”
