New Prez at Double Alpha; Chender Named to Post
Hedge fund firm Double Alpha has named Robert Chender as its new president. Chender has been in the hedge fund industry for more than 15 years and has experience at top-level management at several firms, including the managing director positions at both The Palladin Group and Republic Asset Management Corp. At Republic Asset, he also served as COO.
"Robert's business acumen and his ability to develop and execute vision and strategy make him a natural candidate to lead the company," said Double Alpha CEO Charles Zaffuto. "Robert is results-oriented, and we look forward to working with him to bring the company to the next level."
New York-based Double Alpha, formed in 1994, is 100% owned by management and considers itself a quantitative alternative investment firm.
Putnam Adds McNamara As New General Counsel
Francis J. McNamara III, who has served as general counsel for State Street Research and Management Co. the past nine years, has been named by Putnam Investments to replace the retiring William H. Woolverton in the same position, the company announced.
McNamara, 48, will take over on April 19 and report directly to CEO Charles "Ed" Haldeman, Jr.
"Frank is an individual of the highest integrity, and he has extensive experience as a general counsel in the asset management industry," Haldeman said, adding, "He is highly respected in the legal and investment professions, and I am confident that his unique skills will be a great asset to Putnam."
McNamara, who has a law degree from the University of Michigan, is a member of the Securities and Exchange Commission rules committee of the Investment Company Institute and chairman of the legal and regulatory committee of the Investment Counsel Association of America.
Safeco President Powell Joins Schwab as EVP
The president of Safeco Mutual Funds has left the company to become an executive vice president at Schwab.
Kevin Powell will oversee national sales at Schwab Institutional, the company's brokerage for registered investment advisers. He leaves Safeco just seven months after the company's fund unit announced it would be bought out by Bermuda firm White Mountains Insurance and a high-profile partner, Berkshire Hathaway.
Powell will report directly to Schwab Institutional President Debby McWhinney.
Mellon Professor Spatt Now SEC Chief Economist
Chester Spatt, the Mellon Bank professor of finance and director of the center for financial markets at Carnegie Mellon University, has been named chief economist and director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's office of economic analysis, the Commission said.
Spatt replaces Lawrence E. Harris, who decided to return to teaching and researching at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California.
"I am delighted to have this opportunity to join Chairman [William] Donaldson and his outstanding staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission to work on the important issues facing America's financial markets," said Spatt, who has his doctorate in economics.
Donaldson, calling this a crucial time for the markets, said of Spatt: "I look forward to his insight and analysis into the important issues we are facing."
Some of Spatt's areas of specific expertise include market structure, pricing and valuation and the impact of information on the marketplace.
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