Zurich Investments has appointed renowned economist Hans Kunnen as consultant market economist, the group has announced.
Zurich has hired Kunnen to present at adviser briefings and conferences, and he would help meet the increasing adviser demand for up-to-date economic briefings, a statement said.
Due to the successful growth of the investments division, the team required additional resources to adequately service its growing number of clients, Zurich Investments general manager Matthew Drennan said.
“Advisers need a constant flow of information about the markets and economy to, in turn, assist them in providing key advice and information to their customers,” Drennan said.
“Hans is well respected and highly regarded in the industry and Zurich was especially pleased to bring him on board to provide advisers with high-quality market and economic intelligence.”
Kunnen left his former role as head of investment markets research for Colonial First State at the end of 2008 and was replaced by Stephen Halmarick who took over in February 2009.
Prior to this, Kunnen worked closely with analysts and portfolio managers, and was the chief economist for State Bank NSW.
Kunnen also served on a number of government and industry advisory bodies and spent time teaching economics at Macquarie University in Sydney.
