Pioneer Investment Management USA Inc.'s new President and CEO Lisa M. Jones is building the firm's bench as she looks to increase its U.S. institutional business.
Since Ms. Jones replaced Daniel K. Kingsbury as head of the Boston-based U.S. division of Pioneer Global Asset Management in 2014, 26 mid- and senior-level employees have joined the company in new positions, and she has 19 more roles to fill.
“The hirings that we've done have been to enhance and expand our direct sales effort,” Ms. Jones said in a phone interview. “We're looking to build out our institutional business.”
New hires at Pioneer Investments since Ms. Jones took the reins include Craig D. Sterling as senior vice president and head of U.S. equity research and Henry Orvin as senior vice president and head of U.S. business development. Mr. Sterling was global head of equity research at EVA Dimensions, while Mr. Orvin had been director, national accounts at Allianz Global Investors.
Also: Michael Dirstine and John Black were both named institutional business development officers in the U.S. Mr. Dirstine was vice president of institutional sales at Eaton Vance Corp., while Mr. Black was senior vice president, institutional sales at MacKenzie Investments.
“Over the last several years, the whole distribution environment has become much more institutional, so it's important to make sure to be pursuing (new employees) through the lens of an institutional process. It's a specific and important focus for us,” Ms. Jones said.
Sources with whom Pensions & Investments spoke said the hiring of Ms. Jones is just what the company needs after weathering several years of uncertainty about its future.
“Lisa Jones was a good hire for them. Her strength is distribution — she built Eaton Vance's institutional business almost from scratch,” said one investment banker, who asked not to be identified, in an e-mail. “Not surprisingly, she seems to be focused on upgrading their distribution.”
Although Ms. Jones said that there's no “specific target on a regional basis” to grow Pioneer's North American AUM, particularly as a percentage of global assets, she did say the firm's “strategy is one of continued growth ... and to grow our North American business.”
“It's important for us to have a diversified investment base across asset type and client type,” she added.
In addition to adding new people to the team, Ms. Jones plans to expand the firm's offerings. “I'd like to introduce liquid alternatives, global equity and international equity a year from now,” she said.