BNY Mellon has hired Mitchell Harris as president of its investment management division.
In the newly created position, Harris will run BNY Mellon Asset Management and BNY Mellon Wealth Management. Harris, who had been interim head of the asset management business, also was named to BNY Mellon's executive committee. Harris reports to Curtis Arledge, vice chairman of BNY Mellon and chief executive officer of investment management.
"Mitchell's tenure both as a boutique CEO and a seasoned leader of our asset management business provides fantastic continuity," Arledge said. "He has done an outstanding job in keeping the asset management business focused on its goals of delivering superior investment performance and client service. As president of investment management, he will have a key role in developing broad client relationships and focusing on the efficiency and effectiveness of our business processes and infrastructure."
Harris also will partner with Larry Hughes, chief executive officer of BNY Mellon Wealth Management, to further the delivery of asset and wealth management expertise to a broad range of clients. Hughes continues to report to Arledge.
"Our asset management business continues to build momentum," Harris said. "In 2010, we displayed strong investment performance across most of our strategies, as major investment categories improved over 2009. We maintain our focus on improving the performance of the assets we manage for institutions, high-net-worth clients and mutual fund investors."
Harris will continue as head of BNY Mellon Asset Management's fixed income, cash and currency group, overseeing businesses with more than $500 billion in assets under management including Pareto, Standish Mellon Asset Management, Alcentra and BNY Mellon Cash Investment Strategies, which is a unit of Dreyfus Corp.
His prior roles included serving as chief executive officer of Standish and Pareto, and he remains chairman of both. Before joining Pareto in 1993, Harris worked at Citibank for 14 years where his responsibilities included managing the private bank business in Germany and Jersey in the Channel Islands and the London private bank for European marketing.
Neuberger Berman Hires Multi-Asset Class Strategist
Neuberger Berman has hired Leah Modigliani as a senior vice president and multi-asset class strategist, reporting to Alan Dorsey, head of investment strategy and risk. This is a new position at the firm.
Modigliani previously was an independent investment strategist, advising non-profits, foundations and endowments on portfolio construction and management. She previously spent 12 years at Morgan Stanley, where she was an executive director and U.S. strategist in the research department and a portfolio manager in the asset management division, where she managed equity and balanced asset allocation mutual funds and a macro hedge fund. She developed the M-squared measure of risk-adjusted return for portfolio performance evaluation and designed the stock risk rating system that Morgan Stanley now uses worldwide.
Two Industry Veterans Join Putnam in Retirement Sales
Putnam has hired two respected industry veterans for senior positions in defined contribution sales and client relations.
Michael R. Shamon is responsible for Putnam's internal defined contribution sales team, working with advisers and consultants nationally to support the sales of Putnam's full-service and investment-only retirement businesses.
Daniel E. McDermott will serve as relationship manager, focused on mid- to large-sized retirement plans.
Shamon will report to National Sales Manager Jim Brockelman. He comes to Putnam from JPMorgan Asset Management, where he was vice president, client adviser, in the firm's retirement plan services division.
McDermott will report to Michael MacWade, director of defined contribution relationship management. McDermott joins Putnam from Prudential Retirement, where he was vice president, relationship management, responsible for managing relationships for some of the firm's largest clients.
"As Putnam continues to grow in the mid- to large-sized plan defined contribution market, we are expanding our base of senior professionals to address the needs of our clients," said Edward F. Murphy III, head of defined contribution at Putnam. "Mike and Dan are bringing their experience to a firm that is changing the retirement savings experience for participants and helping plan sponsors fulfill their duties at the highest possible level. I'm particularly pleased that Mike and Dan, who both earlier in their careers held senior positions at Putnam, have decided to rejoin the firm's efforts in this space."
Before joining JPMorgan, Shamon held positions of increasing responsibility over a nine-year period with Putnam Investments/Mercer HR Services. Earlier, he served as a pension coordinator for Harvard University and began his career as a defined contribution plan administrator for NYL Benefit Services Company.
Before joining Prudential Retirement, McDermott held several positions of growing responsibility during a 14-year career with Putnam's defined contribution unit, including serving as vice president and regional 401(k) sales director for the Midwest. Putnam was recently named the inaugural recipient of the "Retirement Leader of the Year Award" at the 18th Annual Mutual Fund Industry Awards. Putnam has $130 billion in assets under management.
