Pinnacle Investment Management has appointed Alex Ihlenfeldt to the newly created role of chief operating officer (COO) as the firm grows its manager base and its third party distribution network, Pinnacle managing director Ian Macoun said.

"There is no doubt that Alex will be highly effective immediately as we look to consolidate and further expand our market position, plan our future and implement those plans," Macoun said.

"Alex's recent retail experience adds another dimension which will be very beneficial to us."

The appointment represents something of a homecoming for Ihlenfeldt, who joins from Wilson HTM Investment Group, which owns a majority stake in Pinnacle.

He played a significant role in the initial establishment of Pinnacle in 2006 and was a non-executive director of Pinnacle from 2006 until 2009.

In his most recent role at Wilson HTM, he was head of wealth management.

Since June 30, 2009, total funds under management of Pinnacle-affiliated investment managers have grown from $4.4 billion to in excess of $9 billion currently.

"Pinnacle needs to be resourced to support the growing demand for the services of these boutiques as well as for planned new initiatives," Macoun said.

Pinnacle's boutique managers include Solaris Investment Management, Plato Investment Management, Resolution Capital, Hyperion Asset Management, Palisade Investment Partners and Pinnacle Private Equity. The firm also has a distribution agreement with Capital International to distribute Capital's global equities funds to Australian retail investors.