Mann, Dagan Now Trustees
Of F-Squared Investments
F-Squared Investments has named Thomas F. Mann and Laura P. Dagan to its board of directors. F-Squared currently has nearly $6 billion in assets under management or model manager agreements.
Currently, Mann is a managing director and senior banker at Societe Generale (SocGen) in New York. He is charged with managing the bank's relationships with insurance companies, banks, asset managers, mutual and hedge funds in the Western Hemisphere.
In 2010, Dagan retired as chairman of the fixed income and stable-value asset management firm Dwight Asset Management Co. During her 22-year tenure at Dwight, she served as CEO, COO and managing director.
"We are delighted to have Tom and Laura join as members of our board," said Howard Present, president and CEO of F-Squared. "Both Laura and Tom are extraordinarily proven executives within the investment management industry, and they bring a rare combination of professional experiences and personal insights tailor-made for F-Squared as we look to continue our growth trajectory."
Mann and Dagan are the fourth and fifth members to be named to F-Squared's board.
Direxion Names Abreu
Senior Sales Director
Direxion has appointed J. Robert Abreu as its new senior regional sales director, responsible for distributing and selling all of Direxion's buy-and-hold alternative investment strategy products to financial advisers in the Greater New York City region.
This will cover all channels, including registered investment advisors (RIAs), wirehouses and regional broker-dealers.
"Bob is an experienced financial services professional whose expertise and regional connections will help Direxion offer alternative investment strategies to advisers whose clients are looking to take advantage of opportunities created by recent market volatility," said Direxion National Sales Manager John Cadigan. "At Direxion, we pride ourselves on making alternative investment strategies, which have traditionally been available only to large institutions, more accessible to all investors. We are confident that by adding Bob to our sales team, we will be able to deliver these strategies in the greater New York City area much more effectively."
Casanova Now a
Gold Analyst At Van Eck
Imaru Casanova has joined Van Eck as senior gold analyst. Foundedin 1955, Van Eck is a leading sponsor of gold-based investment products.
"Though we have grown substantially over that time, our commitment to gold as an asset class has been unwavering," said Joe Foster, portfolio manager of Van Eck's International Investors Gold Fund.
Casanova brings more than 15 years of technical and investment industry experience with her. Prior to joining Van Eck, she was managing director and senior equity research analyst at McNicoll Lewis & Vlak.
Freedom One Adds
Lewallen & Chaffin
Freedom One Financial Group recently added Shelly Lewallen as human resource manager and Jeremy Chaffin as business process manager. The 401(k) plan advisor provides state-of-the-art employee communications and administrative services to more than 1,000 clinets in the U.S.
Lewallen will support HR in the areas of employee relations, talent development, recruitment and retention, compensation and benefits and wellness initiatives. In his new role, Chaffin will be responsible for analyzing current business processes and identifying opportunities for process improvements for the 401(k) plan advisor.
eFront Names Miller
Chief Marketer Officer
Software provider eFront has announced the appointment of David Miller as Chief Marketing Officer.
Miller joined the New York-based company in November 2011 and oversees the firm's global marketing and product management activities.
"eFront has built a compelling portfolio of solutions to help the alternative asses industry face new challenges," said Olivier Dellenbach, founder and CEO. "We believe David's track record of successfully implementing go-to-market strategies for software companies will help eFront attain even greater market presence everywhere.
Hendrickson to Lead
RIA Sales at HSBC Global
Allianz Life Insurance of North America has appointed Cathy Malone as its chief administrative officer. In that role, she will handle enterprise operations, IT, compliance and other strategic initiatives. Previously, Malone had been senior vice president of Enterprise Operations at Allianz.
In other moves:
HSBC Global Asset Management has hired Damion J. Hendrickson as a senior vice president, and head of registered investment advisor sales.
Navigant Consulting, a Chicago-based expert services firm, has appointed Joseph K. Morant as a director of the investment management practice in its Boston office. Previously, Morant had been a vice president of operations and product design for Thomson Reuters, and a vice president of business technology strategy at Nuveen Investments.
Stephen Bowden Wilkins has joined Reliance Trust Company, an Atlanta-based wealth management services firm, as an executive managing director, from Atlanta-based Nease, Lagana, Eden & Culley.
