People:Schaeffer joins ReFlow

Paul D. Schaeffer was named president of ReFlow Management Co. LLC, a liquidity management firm that helps mutual funds manage their liquidity needs more efficiently, said J. Alan Reid Jr., CEO. Mr. Reid had been president and CEO. Mr. Schaeffer was managing director of strategy and innovation for investment manager services at SEI Investments. Dana Grosser, an SEI spokeswoman, did not return a call by press time for information on Mr. Schaeffer’s replacement.

Fred Holmes, who served long stints on the boards of the $2.4 billion Houston Municipal Employees Pension System and the Texas Association of Public Employee Retirement Systems, died Tuesday of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease, a spokeswoman for HMEPS confirmed. He was 76.

Mr. Holmes, a Houston city employee from 1964 to 1991, served on the Houston Muni board from 1972 until he stepped down in January. He served as board chairman the past 16 years.

“Even in the most difficult of times, Fred would always be the first to step up to take on the workload and make the tough decisions, always while sharing his wonderful sense of humor,” Barbara Chelette, who served on both boards with Mr. Holmes, said in the TEXPERS Pension Observer, the association’s quarterly newsletter.

David Long and Max Patterson, executive directors of HMEPS and TEXPERS, respectively, were not available for comment.

Mr. Holmes also was a chartered trustee of Baylor University’s Institute for Pension Funds and a member of the National Society of Pension Professionals. He is survived by a daughter, Amy (Scott) Grabner, and a son, Russell (Michelle) Holmes.

A memorial services for Mr. Holmes will be at 10:30 a.m. CDT May 17 at Lakewood United Methodist Church, 11330 Louetta Road, Houston. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the ALS center at Johns Hopkins Medicine, Baltimore.

Todd Youngberg was named senior vice president, head of high yield, at Aviva Capital Management, the U.S. asset management arm of insurance group Aviva PLC, confirmed spokeswoman Beth Saint. It is a new position. Mr. Youngberg will be based in Chicago. He was global head of high yield at ABN AMRO Asset Management. Information on his replacement was not available.

Conrad Saldanha was named managing director and portfolio manager at Neuberger Berman, managing emerging markets equity strategies, confirmed spokesman Randall B. Whitestone. It is a new position. Mr. Saldanha was portfolio manager for GE Asset Management’s India and emerging markets equities team. Co-portfolio managers Brent Jones and Ping Zhou will assume his responsibilities for emerging markets equities, said GE Asset spokesman Chris Linehan. Mr. Jones will take over Mr. Saldanha’s responsibilities for the India portfolio while a permanent replacement is sought, Mr. Linehan said.

Bill Kelsey was named investment manager, equity long/short, at Cardano, confirmed spokeswoman Sally Ling. The position is new. He will select equity long/short and long-only managers for Cardano’s U.K. clients. Mr. Kelsey previously managed long/short equity and multistrategy hedge funds of funds at Integrated Alternative Investments, according to a Cardano news release. Ohad Egoz, Integrated company secretary, could not be reached by press time for details.

Ross Sakamoto was named a director and senior product specialist for quantitative strategies at DB Advisors, Deutsche Bank’s institutional asset management business, confirmed spokeswoman Mayura Hooper. It is a new position. Mr. Sakamoto was a managing director responsible for marketing trading and brokerage services to institutional clients on Bear Stearns & Co. Inc.’s U.S. program sales and trading team. Bear Stearns spokeswoman Monica Orbe did not return a call by press time seeking information on his replacement.

Ivan Heywood was named CEO at LGV Capital, a London-based private equity firm, confirmed spokesman Steve Leach. He succeeds Adrian Johnson, who recently announced that he was stepping down. Mr. Heywood was a managing director at LGV. Information on Mr. Heywood’s replacement or Mr. Johnson’s plans could not be immediately learned.

Charles de Vaulx was named a partner and portfolio manager at International Value Advisers, said Chuck de Lardemelle, a partner with IVA. The position is a new one at the firm, launched in October by Mr. de Lardemelle and three colleagues from Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder Advisers, adviser of First Eagle mutual funds. Mr. de Vaulx was CIO of Arnhold and S. Bleichroeder’s global value group; he left the firm in March 2007. In a telephone interview, Mr. de Vaulx said he is returning to the industry and his colleagues after honoring “contractual obligations” — a one-year non-compete clause. IVA, which offers a global and an international strategy, had $275 million in institutional and high-net-worth assets under management as of May 1.

Charles P. Nelson was promoted to president of Great-West Retirement Services, said spokesman Jeff Close. It is a new position. Mr. Nelson will retain the responsibilities he held as senior vice president at Great-West, overseeing the corporate, government, health-care, non-profit and institutional lines of business, and won’t be replaced.

Tim Stidham joined Putnam Investments as account manager for institutional sales in the Western territory, said spokeswoman Nancy Fisher. It is a new position. Mr. Stidham held a similar position at Hartford Investment Management. Tim Benedict, spokesman for Hartford, did not return calls seeking information on Mr. Stidham’s replacement.

Christopher Von Bargen was named director for institutional sales for the southeast region at Allegiant Asset Management, confirmed a spokeswoman. It is a new position. Mr. Von Bargen had been at BNY Asset Management, where he was a vice president, specializing in institutional products sales including hedge fund of funds, real estate, bank loan pools, active and passive equity and fixed-income products, BNY Mellon spokesman Mike Dunn said.

Jan Goodwin was named executive director of the $8.8 billion New Mexico Educational Retirement Board, Santa Fe. Ms. Goodwin confirmed. She replaced Evalynne Hunemuller, who retired 15 months ago, and Jeff Riggs, deputy director, who had been interim director. Ms. Goodwin was the cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department.

Ken Welch was named chief financial officer of the $110 billion Texas Teacher Retirement System, Austin. He replaced Tony Galaviz, who retired. Mr. Welch was the director of budget and fiscal policy for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission.

Hope Woodhouse, chief operating officer at Bridgewater Associates and a member of its management team, will leave the firm, according to a letter sent to clients by Raymond T. Dalio, Bridgewater president. Ms. Woodhouse’s “resignation was reached with mutual understanding due to Hope’s challenges of operating in the Bridgewater culture,” Mr. Dalio wrote. In the letter, Mr. Dalio included a link to the firm’s website, which describes the firm’s culture as challenging and being predicated on conflict. According to the letter, Giselle Wagner, managing director and Bridgewater’s previous COO, is designing a transition plan for Ms. Woodhouse’s departure. Ms. Wagner did not return a call seeking clarification. Mr. Dalio wrote in his letter that the departments under Ms. Woodhouse’s oversight will continue to be managed by their existing leaders. Ms. Woodhouse’s plans could not be learned. Ms. Woodhouse has been COO for 2½ years.

Jay Hooley was named president and COO of State Street Corp, confirmed spokesman Steve Maguire. He replaces Ronald Logue, who was promoted to chairman and CEO in 2004. The position has been vacant since then. Mr. Hooley was vice chairman and head of State Street’s global investment servicing, trading and research business. He will retain those duties as COO.

S. Kenneth Leech, chief investment officer at Western Asset Management, will take a medical leave effective May 3, according to a client letter from the firm. Mr. Leech has had “a long-term throat condition, which recently has progressed to the point that requires further testing,” according to the letter.

Officials at the firm do not know when he will be able to return to work, said Mary Athridge, spokeswoman for WAMCO parent Legg Mason. Stephen Walsh, deputy CIO who has co-led WAMCO’s investments with Mr. Leech for more than a decade, will take over Mr. Leech’s responsibilities on an interim basis,said Ms. Athridge.

“Given the firm’s team approach to managing money and deep resource base, we would not expect the temporary absence of any of our professionals to affect our ability to formulate investment strategy and manage client portfolios,” said the letter. “We are well positioned to perform at a high level in Ken’s absence and we will continue to have access to him on an advisory basis.”

Mr. Leech could not be reached for further comment.

Perry Hoffmeister was named managing director and head of investment management for Europe and the Middle East at Lehman Brothers, spokesman Jeremy Apfel confirmed. Mr. Hoffmeister, who was Lehman Brothers’ co-head of investment banking for Europe and the Middle East, will report to George Walker, global head of investment management; Jeremy Isaacs, CEO for Europe, Middle East and Asia-Pacific; and Benoit Savoret, COO for Europe and the Middle East. Christian Meissner, the co-head of the investment banking division for Europe and the Middle East, will become the sole head of investment banking for the two regions.

Mr. Hoffmeister replaced Thierry Sciard. Mr. Sciard’s plans were not immediately known.

Rod Wright was named lead portfolio manager of the $2.8 billion Pioneer Value Fund, effective May 1, confirmed spokesman Geoff Smith. He replaced Aaron C. Clark, who resigned. Mr. Wright is strategy director on Pioneer’s value team and will retain those duties. Brad Galko, portfolio manager, will assist Mr. Wright in managing the value fund. Messrs. Wright and Galko have been part of the fund’s management team since 2006. Mr. Smith said he could not comment on Mr. Clark’s plans. Efforts to reach Mr. Clark were unsuccessful.

Mary Ann Griffin was promoted to senior investment manager at Fort Washington Capital Partners Group, said Diane E. Planck, spokeswoman for the private equity division of Fort Washington Investment Advisors. Ms. Griffin was investment manager, private equity, at Fort Washington Capital; Ms. Planck did not have information about a replacement at press time.

Steven Chua joined hedge fund manager Third Avenue Management as research analyst. In this new position, Mr. Chua will work on identifying fixed-income investment opportunities, particularly in distressed and special situation securities, said Bridget Smith, a Third Avenue spokeswoman. Mr. Chua was an associate in the leveraged finance group of Goldman Sachs’ investment bank, where he created leveraged loan and high-yield bond vehicles.

Benjamin Silver was named a managing director in Babson Capital Management’s mezzanine/private equity group. The position is new, according to a Babson news release. Mr. Silver was a senior vice president in the corporate lending group of GE Commercial Finance. GE spokesman Ned Reynolds wasn’t immediately available to discuss if Mr. Silver’s position would be filled.

Bill Thomas was named CEO of active ETF manager Grail Advisors, a new position, said John Siciliano, managing partner with parent Grail Partners. Mr. Thomas was senior vice president and head of distribution for Charles Schwab Investment Management. A Schwab spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment on a replacement.

Grail Advisors has an application pending with the SEC to manage active ETFs whose holdings will be disclosed on a daily basis. The firm will offer ETFs for asset class categories such as large-cap value and international large-cap equities, giving investors access to the ideas of best-in-class third-party managers. Grail Advisors will assemble a multimanager lineup for each ETF and make the asset allocation decisions.

Steve Bodurtha, senior vice president and vice chairman of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management, was named head of Merrill Lynch Retirement Group, confirmed spokesman Erik Hendrickson. Mr. Bodurtha will retain his current duties. He replaces Michael Falcon, a managing director, who will be leaving Merrill Lynch in early May. Efforts to reach Mr. Falcon were unsuccessful.

Andrew W. Bischel, chief investment officer at SKBA Capital Management, was given the title of CEO. He replaces Kenneth J. Kaplan, who will continue as chairman. Joshua J. Rothe, director of research, was named to the additional position of president, which had previously been held by Mr. Bischel.

Matthew D. Zuck was named to the new position of senior vice president and director of corporate development. He will continue his duties as senior portfolio manager and analyst.

Larry C. Renfro, a Fidelity Investments executive during the 1980s, returned to the firm as president of a new division, Fidelity Developing Businesses. Mr. Renfro will oversee a number of businesses and initiatives, including Fidelity HR Services, Fidelity Investments Life Insurance and Fidelity Charitable Services, as well as Fidelity’s acquisition-focused corporate business development unit, according to a Fidelity news release. Mr. Renfro’s last position at Fidelity was president of Fidelity Retail Services; he left in 1988. For the past three years, Mr. Renfro served as president and chief executive officer of AARP Services Inc. John Wider, vice president of health products and services, and Jean Alexander, chief marketing officer for both AARP Services and its AARP Financial subsidiary, were named co-leaders of AARP Services, said Anthony Deluise, spokesman. He couldn’t immediately say if those appointments would be permanent.

Peter S. Kraus was named an executive vice president at Merrill Lynch and a member of the management committee, said spokeswoman Jessica Oppenheim. The position is new. Mr. Kraus will oversee Merrill’s business strategy and investments, global growth plans and corporate acquisitions. He was a managing director and co-head of the investment management division at Goldman Sachs Group. Edward Forst, executive vice president, became sole head of the investment management division after Mr. Kraus’ departure in March.

David Braverman joined the investment division of ICMA Retirement Corp. as vice president of equity, said spokeswoman Milly Stanges. He will be responsible for selecting and monitoring external managers, supervising ICMA-RC staff regarding equity investments, and making contributions toward strategic and business planning, and asset allocation. Mr. Braverman replaced David Harkins, who left last year to pursue other opportunities, Ms. Stanges said.

Mr. Braverman was vice president of the investment advisory services division at Standard & Poor’s. A spokeswoman from S&P did not return calls by press time seeking details on his replacement.

Robert Aguallo Jr. was named managing partner at private equity firm Cardinal Americas, Mr. Aguallo said. The new firm was formed 18 months ago by three principals at private equity firm Cardinal Growth Corp. and an executive of construction company Cordoba Corp. The firm is in the process of raising its first fund, which has a $150 million target. Mr. Aguallo was general manager of the $10.7 billion Los Angeles City Employees Retirement System; he retired earlier this year but stayed for several months while the association searched for a successor. He was replaced by Sally Choi.

Tony Florence and Paul Walker were named partners at venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates, said spokeswoman Kate Barrett. Both are new positions. Mr. Florence was managing director and head of East Coast technology banking at Morgan Stanley. Mr. Walker was a general partner with MPM Capital’s MPM BioEquities Fund, specializing in public, PIPE and mezzanine life sciences investments. Neither Morgan Stanley spokeswoman Marie Ali nor Shari Annes, marketing partner at MPM Capital, returned calls by press time seeking details.

John F. O’Connor was named executive vice president and head of U.S. institutional business at Pioneer Investments. The position is new. Mr. O’Connor was senior vice president and director of North American sales and consultant relations with MFS Investment Management, according to a Pioneer news release. Christopher Callahan, a vice president of institutional sales at MFS, assumed Mr. O’Connor’s responsibilities and was named director of North American sales and relationship management.

Gideon Nieuwoudt will join hedge fund-of-funds manager Silver Creek Capital Management in July as managing director. The position is new, said Jonathan Gasthalter, a spokesman. Mr. Nieuwoudt, who is based in London, will serve on the firm’s investment committee and will be responsible for expanding its non-U.S. business, particularly with European and Asian investment opportunities. Seattle-based Silver Creek will open a London office this summer. Mr. Nieuwoudt was head of alternative investment research for Europe and Asia and deputy head of global alternative investment research for hedge fund-of-funds manager UBP Alternative Investments in London. Armel Leslie, a UBP spokesman, could not provide information about Mr. Nieuwoudt’s replacement by press time.

George Jamgochian was named head of U.S. institutional sales at Principal Global Investors, according to a news release. He previously was head of sales, marketing and relationship management at FRM Research. FRM spokesman Ed Rowley said Mr. Jamgochian’s duties will be assumed by other employees, though FRM is in the process of adding additional marketing staff. Principal spokeswoman Tina Marchetti could not be reached for further information.

Separately, David Buckle was named head of global fixed income at Principal Global Investors, a new position created as part of a management restructuring aimed at expanding its non-U.S. business, European CEO Nicholas Lyster said in an interview. Mr. Buckle will retain his duties as head of European fixed income and will now oversee other non-U.S. fixed-income portfolio management staff in Sydney and Singapore. Also, Stephen Holt was named head of institutional business, a new position. Mr. Holt was head of institutional sales in the U.K. and Ireland; he will retain those responsibilities.

Ronnee Ades will join FTSE Group on Thursday as business unit head-alternatives, a new position, spokeswoman Jill Mathers said. Ms. Ades was senior director of institutional markets at Dow Jones Indexes, overseeing Dow Jones Wilshire benchmarking, and was executive director of the Dow Jones Wilshire Indexes technical advisory committee, Dow Jones spokeswoman Naomi Kim said. Ms. Ades left Dow Jones on April 11, Ms. Kim added.

At FTSE, Ms. Ades will oversee alternative asset-class index series for hedge funds, REITs, commercial property, private banking and infrastructure, among others, as well as identifying opportunities in new alternative asset classes, a FTSE statement said. “The new position reflects the growth of FTSE’s alternative index business,” Ms. Mathers said.

Dow Jones is working out details on a search process and hasn’t set a timeframe for replacing Ms. Ades.

Shawn Heron was named vice president and senior investment strategist at USI Advisors, confirmed spokeswoman Kristen Dibble. The position is part of USI’s new defined contribution plan consulting practice. Mr. Heron was vice president and relationship manager at BlackRock. BlackRock spokeswoman Bobbie Collins declined to comment, citing company policy.

Michael Robinson and David Wonn were named vice presidents and product specialists at RiverSource Investments, acting exclusively on behalf of Threadneedle to increase Threadneedle’s U.S. business; both companies are subsidiaries of Ameriprise Financial. The positions are new, said RiverSource spokesman Ryan Lund.

Mr. Robinson was a vice president at American Century Investments; the firm is searching for a replacement, said spokesman Brian Spano. Mr. Wonn was formerly a client manager at Invesco; Ken Masse was appointed to that position in February, said spokesman Bill Hensel.

Steven M. Harding was named managing director of Independent Fiduciary Services’ operational review practice, confirmed Samuel W. Halpern, president. Mr. Harding replaced Jeanna M. Cullins, who left the firm in March. He will retain his title as a senior vice president at the firm but some of his duties will be distributed to other personnel, Mr. Halpern said.

Margery Sinder Friedman joined The Segal Co. as general counsel, confirmed spokeswoman Mary Feldman. It is a new position. Ms. Friedman had been an attorney working with pension and health plans at the Washington law firm of Morgan Lewis and Bockius.

Securities and Exchange Commission Commissioner Paul Atkins on May 5 announced he would leave the agency after his term expires June 5. Mr. Atkins, who was appointed to the commission by President Bush in 2002, said in a news release that he planned to stay at the agency until a successor is appointed and takes office. The SEC is currently operating with three commissioners, two short of the full complement the agency is authorized to have. The two remaining commissioners are Chairman Christopher Cox and Kathleen Casey.

Rebecca Anne Batts was named inspector general of the PBGC. She replaced Robert Emmons, who retired last year, according to a news release. Ms. Batts was an assistant inspector general for the U.S. Department of Transportation.