The investment manager has appointed Dr Laura Ryan to the position, with her being set up to build a new research team to support the company’s growing investment capabilities.
Prior to Ardea, Dr Ryan was senior vice-president (quantitative research) and member of the Australian senior management team at PIMCO, manager of quantitative strategy at CBA, quantitative manager at AMP Capital Investors and a lecturer in statistics at the Australian National University.
She is reported to have 21 years of experience in global finance markets, across a range of fixed income investing capabilities, including Ardea’s specialisation of “relative value” investing as well as portfolio construction, asset allocation and portfolio risk management.
Ardea said the research team headed by Dr Ryan will increase the breadth of its global fixed income coverage by supporting portfolio managers in researching and developing relative value investment strategies.
It is also aiming for the team to produce value-add research and thought leadership for clients which will be independent of Ardea’s product offerings.
Ardea chief executive and co-founder Stephen Clout commented creating a research team under Dr Ryan is a key component of Ardea’s plan for long-term growth opportunities.
“This is a pre-emptive investment in resourcing to ensure we maintain our highest standards of alpha generation and client service as we continue to grow in a considered and sustainable way,” Mr Clout said.
“We are thrilled to have someone of Laura’s calibre joining our investment team. Not only is she exceptional in terms of technical skills and investment experience, she is also a great cultural fit, being strongly aligned with our core values around client service and teamwork.”
Ardea has also added Tom McFadyen as a risk analyst within its portfolio implementation team.
Mr McFadyen had previously worked with the firm as part of an internship.
Further, Anna Price as joined Ardea as its new office manager.
Ardea indicated it has further hires planned over the upcoming year.
It now manages more than $13 billion on the behalf of clients.
