APG Asset Management's Peter Branner will join money manager abrdn as chief investment officer, effective May 1.
Mr. Branner "slots in after a period without a CIO," following the retirement of Rod Paris in 2021, an abrdn spokesman said. Mr. Branner will play a leadership role as abrdn continues to reshape its investments division. The money manager is focusing more on its core strengths and simplifying its strategies.
He will report to Chris Demetriou and Rene Buehlmann, co-CEOs of investments.
"Having led investment teams at asset managers and asset owners, Peter is ideally suited to work with our asset class heads and the broader leadership team to develop client-led investment propositions," Mr. Buehlmann said in a news release.
The investments business had £386.3 billion ($469.7 billion) in assets under management as of June 30.
Mr. Branner was CIO at APG Asset Management. The firm had €521 billion ($556.2 billion) in assets under management as of Dec. 31, including the assets of Stichting Pensioenfonds ABP, Heerlen, Netherlands. ABP had €480 billion in assets as of Nov. 30.
APG said it is opting for an "internal solution" for Mr. Branner's successor. The CIO role will be split and filled on an interim basis for the time being, APG said in a news release Wednesday. Herman Slooijer, managing director-fixed income, was appointed CIO capital markets, and Patrick Kanters, managing director of global private investments, was appointed CIO private investments. The interim appointments are subject to regulatory approval.
Mr. Branner was appointed CIO at APG in September 2018. He was previously CEO/CIO at Swedish SEB Investment Management in Stockholm.
Separately, abrdn appointed Tina Tong as head of wholesale distribution for Hong Kong, the firm said.
It is a new position, and Ms. Tong started Wednesday. She is responsible for building relationships with key intermediary distributors and serving clients in Hong Kong. She reports to David Hanzl, head of wholesale for Asia-Pacific, also based in Hong Kong.
Ms. Tong was vice president for distribution at Matthews Asia, where she worked for 10 years. She was responsible for fund distribution activities to private banks, family offices, funds of funds, external asset managers and insurance companies. Matthews Asia could not immediately be contacted for comment on her replacement.
Natalie Koh contributed to this story.
