ING Investment Management (INGIM) has made a spate of new appointments in its property, small companies and credit research teams.
David Scott has been appointed as real estate securities director, and will be responsible for INGIM's $1 billion listed property portfolio.
Scott joins the investment manager from Credit Suisse Asset Management, where he led the Australian listed property team since 2000.
INGIM also announced the hire of two credit analysts.
Ed Teh has been appointed as senior credit analyst, while Thomas Wu will join as credit analyst.
Teh joins the company from MBIA, a global manager of credit risk, where he has spent the past five years covering the infrastructure and utility credit sectors.
Wu came across from Bridport Capital, a hedge fund specialising in distressed assets.
They will report to INGIM Australia head of credit research Scott Rundell.
The new hires bring the number of credit specialists to six.
"We believe these significant appointments will support our push into the adviser and platform sector as well as enhancing our institutional offering," INGIM Australia chief executive Steven Billiet said.
"It's an exciting time for our Australian business and we expect to announce additional new appointments and investment solutions in the coming months," Billiet said.
INGIM has also addressed the departure of former head of smaller companies Sinclair Currie, who left the firm to co-head a new Challenger Financial Services boutique fund manager.
The unnamed Challenger boutique has about $200 million in funds under management (FUM) and was formed when Challenger's spun off its Australian small and micro cap business.
Currie will join Challenger smaller companies and microcap portfolio manager Alex Milton to lead the new boutique.
To replace Currie, INGIM has promoted Joel Flemming to the role of small companies portfolio manager.
Flemming joined INGIM in August 2007 as a small companies equities analyst.
INGIM has around $800 million in small company FUM.
INGIM is also finalising the recruitment of a further two analysts for its Australian listed property and small companies teams, and expects to make an announcement shortly.
