Susan Schmidt was named head of U.S. equities at Aviva Investors, a spokesman said.
The position is new, and Ms. Schmidt is based in Chicago. She reports to David Cumming, chief investment officer, equities.
Ms. Schmidt "is a high-caliber and experienced investment professional, and her arrival further signals our commitment to having strong integrated teams across all key areas of the equities market," Mr. Cumming said in a news release. "We plan to add further resources to further strengthen the U.S. team over the coming months."
The spokesman added that Aviva Investors manages U.S. equity assets within existing strategies, and expects the team to build up additional assets under management. The firm made nine hires to its U.K., global and emerging market equities teams in July.
Aviva Investors has £348 billion ($453.3 billion) in assets under management, including £65.5 billion in equities.
Ms. Schmidt was a senior portfolio manager covering small- and midcap U.S. equities for investment firm Westwood Holdings Group. Executives could not be reached for comment by press time.
