This week in new hires, Dr. Ajay Mehra joined Salient Partners; Alan Meder was named chairman of the board of governors at CFA Institute; Yuri Khalif went to Hatteras Funds; CLS Investments announced three executive appointments; and Robert Albanese announced his forthcoming retirement from Pentegra Retirement Services.
Also, Katherine Nohre joined U.S. Bank’s The Private Client Reserve; Ary Velasco went to Citi Private Bank; Securities America welcomed William Lavender; and JHS Capital Advisors added David Meglay and Mark Hennings.
Salient Partners Appoints Dr. Ajay Mehra as Head of Equities
Salient Partners L.P. announced Sept. 20 that Dr. Ajay Mehra has joined the firm as managing director and head of equities. He will be based inNew Yorkand directly oversee client portfolios and equity-related products. He will also become a partner serving as a member of the senior investment team.
Most recently, Mehra served as managing director and head of manager and fund research at UBS, where he reshaped the firm’s liquid alternatives platform and oversaw the manager search and due diligence activities. Earlier, he was a portfolio manager and partner at Columbus Nova, where he comanaged a global opportunity/macro hedge fund and managed a global long-biased equity fund. Prior to that, he was head of equity research for State Street Research, where he was lead portfolio manager for multiple funds. He also spent five and half years as senior vice president and portfolio manager with Columbia Management Group; was an analyst in Morgan Stanley’s consumer products group; and an assistant professor of strategic management atWest VirginiaUniversity’sCollegeofBusinessand Economics.
Alan Meder Named Chairman of CFA Institute Board of Governors
Alan Meder was appointed chairman of the board of governors of CFA Institute. He succeeds Daniel Meader, who continues to serve as immediate past chair. The appointment was effective Sept. 1.
Meder is the chief risk officer of Chicago-based Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co., and the principal financial officer of four other investment companies. He leads a 17-member board of governors comprised of investment professionals from 10 countries. In addition to Meder’s appointment, CFA Institute has elected Charles Yang as vice chairman. Yang is the chief investment officer of T&D Asset Management, based in Japan.
Yuri Khalif Joins Hatteras as Executive Director
Hatteras Funds announced Sept. 19 that Yuri Khalif has joined the firm as executive director for the northeasternU.S. He is based inPennsylvania and will focus on expanding business development and client relation services to investment consultants, RIAs and broker-dealers in the Northeast.
He has 19 years of experience in the investment industry, and most recently served as an executive director of JPMorgan Asset Management’s institutional advisor business. Earlier in his career, he worked for Deutsche Asset Management and Miller Anderson & Sherrerd, a division of Morgan Stanley and SEI Corporation.
CLS Investments Appoints Three
CLS Investments, LLC recently announced that it has promoted Todd Clarke to the position of chief executive officer; he most recently served as the firm’s president. In addition, CLS has appointed Ryan Beach as its new president and John Russel “Rusty” Vanneman as its new chief investment officer.
Beach most recently served as associate general counsel of NorthStar Financial Services Group, LLC, the parent company of CLS, where he oversaw legal matters affecting NorthStar, CLS and their affiliates. Prior to NorthStar, he was in private practice with a boutique securities firm where he advised clients on SEC and FINRA requirements as well as other corporate financial and investment matters, and represented private equity firms in connection with portfolio acquisitions and raising capital.
Vanneman will lead the firm’s portfolio management and investment research teams and sit on the investment committee. He has more than 20 years’ experience in the financial services industry, most recently as CIO and portfolio manager for a large investment adviser in theBostonmetropolitan area.
Albanese Announces Retirement Date from Pentegra
Robert Albanese, president and CEO of Pentegra Retirement Services, announced Sept. 20 that he will retire effective June 30, 2013. The firm’s board of directors has elected John Pinto to succeed him as president and CEO, and has also elected him a member of the board, effective upon his assuming the presidency. Pinto is currently executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Albanese became president and CEO in 2007. During his tenure, the company doubled its assets under management to over $8 billion. He oversaw Pentegra’s acquisition of RSGroup in 2008, Alliance Benefit Group-Pentegra in 2011, and the acquisition of a block of business from National Life Group.