Financial institution ING Investment Management has hired professionals from Columbia Management and Invesco to focus on strengthening the firm’s relationships with institutional investment consultants.
Brian Baskir will lead the firm’s U.S. and global efforts in the space as senior VP and head of global consultant relations, a new position at ING IM. Reporting to him is Michael Beckerman who has joined the New York-based firm as a VP on the consultant relations team.
In a statement today, Erica Evans, who heads the U.S. institutional business for ING IM, expressed the firm’s excitement about the new additions. Baskir will report to Evans.
“We are continuing to strengthen relationships with the consultant community, which has always played a pivotal role in the development of our business,” she said. “For the first time, we have global management and coordination of consultant relations to serve clients and their advisors on a unified basis.”
Prior to taking on the role at ING IM, Baskir was with Atlanta-based Invesco where he was a managing director and head of consultant relations. He also honed his skills in the industry while working at Old Mutual in various positions, such as senior VP and director of consultant relations. Additionally, he has a background in actuarial practice and employee benefits, the statement noted.
Meanwhile, Beckerman joins ING IM from Boston-based Columbia Management, where most recently he was a VP in consultant relationships, responsible for over 40 investment advisory firms. Earlier on, he was with John A. Levin & Co. and Goldman Sachs, where he held sales positions.
In an email to IMW Tuesday, David Bachert, vice president of corporate communications at Invesco said that Robert Scheetz, formerly of AllianceBernstein, has joined Invesco to replace Baskir and lead its institutional consultant relations in the U.S. Baskir was named to the role at Invesco in 2008, IMW
“Bob joins Invesco after a successful 20-year career at Hewitt Associates, RogersCasey, and, for the past 15 years, AllianceCapital and AllianceBernstein, where his roles have encompassed consultant relations, sales and client portfolio management,” Eric Johnson, managing director and head of U.S. Sales, client service and consultant relations at Invesco, said in a statement to IMW. “He will lead Invesco’s consultant relations effort and also act as a liaison to a number of consulting firms.”
Officials at Columbia Management could not be reached for comment regarding a replacement for Beckerman. John Meyers, a spokesman for AllianceBernstein, did immediately respond to requests seeking information about a replacement for Scheetz.
