Northern Trust Asset Management has appointed Anne-Sophie van Royen, Ph.D, as its new head of index and quantitative strategies.
In the role, van Royen will lead the strategic direction, commercial development and execution of Northern Trust’s index and quant investment capabilities across equity, fixed income and multi-asset.
Index and quant are major pillars of the asset manager’s strategy suite, with US$923 billion in index strategies and US$47 billion in quant strategies under management as of 31 March this year.
Based in Chicago, the firm said van Royen will “drive innovation” of these strategies and accelerate research-to-production delivery of scalable client solutions. She will report to global co-chief investment officers Anwiti Bahuguna, Ph.D and Christian Noth, CFA.
Commenting on the appointment, Bahuguna said van Royen is a “proven builder” of systematic platforms, with expertise spanning index, quant and total portfolio solutions.
“Her track record of combining rigorous research with disciplined implementation will help us continue to innovate and deliver efficient solutions for clients.”
Van Royen joins from asset manager Asset Management One USA, where she served as chief investment officer of quant strategies. In the role, van Royen oversaw strategic development and implementation across multi-asset solutions.
She has also held senior positions in quant and asset allocation at Caisse de Dépot et Placement du Québec, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, UBS, Modus Quantitative Advisors and Credit Suisse Asset Management. She holds a Ph.D. and M.Sc. in mathematical economics from Université de Paris, Sorbonne.
Roth added: “Index and quantitative strategies are foundational building blocks in portfolios, and we see strong client demand for approaches that pair precision with thoughtful risk management.”
“Anne-Sophie brings a deep appreciation of evolving client needs with the technical depth to deliver solutions.”
Investor Daily has previously reported on Northern Trust’s growing quant capabilities, where AI is increasingly being used to generate alpha from large amounts of data.
Van Royen’s appointment also comes after the asset manager named David Sara as its new regional head of industry development for Asia Pacific earlier this month.
