Philip Anker joined Investec Asset Management as managing director to expand and lead the firm's North America business.
The position is new, and Mr. Anker is based in New York. He oversees institutional business for the region alongside Richard Garland, managing director, head of the global adviser and Latin America institutional business.
Investec, which has $141 billion in assets under management, said the hire cements a 10-year commitment to the region. The New York team also covers Canada and Latin America. Investec does not disclose regional assets under management.
Mr. Anker focuses on building a presence in the U.S., developing client-facing and investment teams, and deepening dialogue with institutional investors.
"We want to play a role in terms of helping the U.S. investors to open the opportunity set outside the U.S.," taking a more balanced approach in terms of geographical exposure, said Mr. Anker in a telephone interview.
While a "home bias has worked really well, if you're a pension plan and need 7% or 8% returns and are already (exposed to asset classes such as private equity and debt) organizations like Investec have the chance to talk about the growth opportunities outside the U.S. We have an interesting role to play here to help rebalance a little bit how the U.S. investors are thinking about their global exposure."
Mr. Anker said executives are thinking about their narrative and positioning in the market, and how to "turn the New York office into a hub rather than a spoke within the Investec group," having portfolio managers and client-facing staff in place as well as distribution executives.
Mr. Anker was global head of distribution and a member of the executive management committee at Insight Investment. Angus Woolhouse joined as global head of distribution from Barings in mid-2017.
