Asset manager Industry Funds Management (IFM) has made a number of appointments to support the expansion of its infrastructure and international operations.
IFM chief executive Brett Himbury, who earlier this year visited consultants and prospective clients in Europe and the United States, said the appetite for unlisted investments had increased, necessitating a boost in staff levels.
"The market there is absolutely in the process of very deliberately, but selectively, increasing their exposure to infrastructure opportunities globally. That is clearly good for IFM," Himbury said.
"There are a couple of things driving that: the listed markets have recovered to the extent that there is liquidity to be able to fund that and, secondly, they are increasingly buying into the story of the relevance and worth of unlisted assets in matching their investments to the liability profile of their pension funds."
IFM already experienced strong growth in the six months to 31 December 2010, when funds under management grew by 17 per cent to $27.6 billion.
IFM has appointed Jamie Cemm as investment director in its Melbourne-based infrastructure group.
Cemm comes from Macquarie Capital Funds where he worked as an asset manager focusing on the acquisition, development and management of new and existing assets within the European, North American and Latin American portfolios.
Timothy May has been appointed as an investment analyst within the infrastructure group. He joins from KPMG, where he worked for almost two years in their corporate finance group.
Jin Min Song has been appointed as tax associate within IFM's commercial group. He comes from Ernst & Young and has experience in merger and acquisition transactions and advising private equity funds and investment banks on the taxation implications.
Former NAB compliance specialist Gerard Fullarton joins IFM's commercial group as its risk and compliance manager.
IFM also expanded its sales force internationally with the appointment of business development managers in New York and London.
Brian Clark will fill the role in New York, while Annabel Wiscarson takes up the position in London.
Clark joins from Macquarie Bank in New York, where he was senior managing director and head of Macquarie's private placement group in the Americas.
Wiscarson also joins from Macquarie Bank where she was senior vice president in charge of institutional fundraising in Scandinavia for infrastructure, private equity and other alternative funds.
She has been appointed as executive director of business development for the United Kingdom and Europe at IFM in London.
