Pan-European real estate investment manager Europa Capital has appointed Russell Chaplin to the newly created role of chief investment officer.

Chaplin, who has spent the past three months as a consultant to Europa, is a co-founder and director of Intrinsic Value Real Estate Advisers, where he served four years providing consulting services to the real estate industry. 

Chaplin was property CIO at Aberdeen Standard Investments (now Abrdn) between 2010 and 2018. He also held roles at UBS Global Asset Management and Henderson Global Investors.

Europa Capital said Chaplin will work alongside managing partner, Rob Sim, to help “shape the vision, strategy and delivery” of the firm’s investment goals, with oversight of the investment performance of all discretionary funds and mandates.

He is also expected to work with the team to ”maximise capital raising” and help support the continued delivery of risk-adjusted returns for Europa Capital’s clients as well as its ESG initiatives.

Sim said the new CIO role is a natural step in the “evolution of Europa Capital as we grow the business”.

“Having already worked closely with Russell during his consultancy, I know he will be a very valuable addition and am really looking forward to working with him,” Sim added.

Chaplin said: “Having been formed in 1995, Europa Capital has a perspective on European real estate that few can match, and I am delighted to have joined.

“I look forward to working with the team to help deliver on our clients’ expectations and to grow the business further as part of Mitsubishi’s global real estate partnerships.”

Chaplin is an associate fellow of Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford where he will continue to teach four days a year.

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