Quilter Investors has made the first two hires as part of its manager research hub expansion.
Kristian Cassar has joined as head of manager research to lead the new team. He joins from Deutsche Bank where he has been leading fixed income fund selection. Prior to this he was a fund manager at BDO Investment Management.
The multi-asset investment arm of Quilter has also hired Yusuf Durmaz as a senior analyst. He moves over from sister company Quilter Cheviot, where he has been a fund research analyst since 2021.
Durmaz brings over a decade of fund research experience having also previously worked at Allfunds and GAM. He specialises in global equity, sustainable and thematic fund research.
Cassar and Durmaz join Marcus Cave and Andrew Budge in the team after they transitioned from internal roles.
Once fully formed, the hub will be 13 people strong and have three distinct teams; a new manager selection team; an enhanced operational due diligence team and its existing responsible investing team.
Head of operational due diligence Given Chanetsa-Mazarura will be responsible for assessing the governance and transparency of the funds selected.
Elsewhere in the business, Lauren Edwards has joined from Schroders Personal Wealth as head of implementation and change. The recent moves follow the appointment of Marisol Hernandez as head of responsible investment last October.
Marcus Brookes, chief investment officer at Quilter Investors (pictured), said: “It is fantastic to welcome such high calibre individuals to Quilter Investors and to further enhance our manager research capabilities.”
“Advisers and clients come to expect quality investments underpinned by sound and thorough research. I am excited to see the output of the manager research hub help fulfil these expectations and leave investors feeling empowered and confident in where and how their money is invested.”
