The firm has appointed six London-based investment specialists to support portfolio management teams and communicate JPMAM’s market outlook, investment strategy and investment performance to current and prospective clients.
Karine Mercado has been appointed lead investment specialist for core fixed income strategies in EMEA. She joins from German chemical company BASF where she was responsible for managing the credit sleeves of the company’s North American and German pension plans.
Rohan Duggal has been appointed lead investment specialist for high-yield strategies in EMEA. He joins from Blue Mountain Capital Partners where he was a senior portfolio specialist and client adviser.
In addition, Claire Cullen, who has been with JPMAM since 2008, has been appointed lead investment specialist for global credit strategies in EMEA with a focus on investment grade and flexible global credit.
All three will report to JPMAM head of the fixed income investment specialist team for EMEA Travis Spence (pictured).
Elsewhere, Giles Bedford, Liam Moore and Wei Chu have joined the fixed income team as part of a restructure. All three will be based in London.
Bedford will start in mid-June as emerging market debt investment specialist, reporting to Zsolt Papp, lead EMD investment specialist. Moore and Chu started at JPMAM earlier this year. Moore supports the firm’s unconstrained strategies while Chu supports the insurance fixed income team.
Spence said: “Global fixed income markets are in a period of unprecedented change with shifts in monetary policy, rising interest rates and late cycle behaviour emerging in the credit cycle. These inflection points require talented investment professionals to help clients navigate the increasingly complex nature of markets and advise them on the fixed income investment solutions best suited to their individual needs.
“We are expanding our resources to meet this demand and are very pleased to have Karine, Rohan, Claire, Giles, Liam and Wei join our now 18-strong fixed income investment specialist team servicing clients across this region.”
