Ralf Oberbannscheidt was named global head of thematic investing at Robeco.
It is a new position, a spokesman said in an email. Based in Zurich, Mr. Oberbannscheidt will join the firm on May 1 and report to Mark van der Kroft, chief investment officer, fundamental and quant equity.
Mr. Oberbannscheidt will lead the firm's thematic investing teams, which oversee about €18.7 billion ($19.9 billion) in assets under management. Also, pending regulatory approval, he will join the executive committee of Robeco Switzerland.
Mr. Oberbannscheidt was previously founding partner and portfolio manager at New York-based money manager Global Thematic Partners. Officials there could not be immediately reached for further information.
As of June 30, Robeco had a total of €178 billion in assets under management.
