MSCI, Property Partner, Avadis Immobilien, AFIAA, EPRA, La Française, PREA, Texas Teachers, Partners Group, Gresham House
MSCI – Peter Hobbs, head of real estate research, is to leave MSCI next month. Hobbs, who was head of global research at Deutsche Bank’s real estate investment management business, joined the company in 2010 when it was called IPD.
The news follows the recent announcement that IPD co-founder Rupert Nabarro has retired.
Mark Weedon, who was head of UK alternative real estate at MSCI before he left the company last summer, has joined online investment platform Property Partner, which specialises in secondary-market trading. Weedon will develop the company’s institutional business.
Avadis Immobilien – Stephan Kloess has taken over as interim CEO of Avadis Immobilien, the company running the investment foundation AFIAA owned by 43 Swiss pension funds. Kloess takes over from Norbert Grimm von Schaffhausen. AFIAA president Peter Forstmoser has been replaced by Andreas Vögeli, partner at the law firm Niederer, Kraft & Frey.
The cooperation between AFIAA and with Avadis was started in 2014 and has been renewed. In a joint announcement, the organisation said the management need to be changed “because of differences in strategic ideas”.
EPRA – Fraser Hughes, deputy CEO of European Public Real Estate Association, has left the organisation after six years to “pursue other ideas”.
La Française – The Paris-headquarted investment manager has opened a new office in Seoul, South Korea and has appointed Shawna Yang as investor relations director for Asia. Shawna Yang was previously head of the capital markets division for Cushman & Wakefield in South Korea.
PREA – Eric Lang, senior manager director of real assets and private equity at the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, has become the chair of the Pension Real Estate Association. Lang takes over from Tom Arnold, head of Americas for real estate at Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
Partners Group – The Swiss-headquarted investment manager is building an Americas headquarters in Denver in the US, expected to be completed in 2018. Partner David Layton and other US colleagues will relocate to a temporary Denver office in May.
Gresham House – Richard Davidson is to become lead fund manager of the Gresham House Forestry Fund and will chair the investment committee of Gresham House’s forestry management subsidiary Aitchesse. Davidson was previously manager of Morgan Stanley Investment Management’s Global Asset Allocation fund.
