Martin Currie steps up growth drive with new appointment

Martin Currie, the global active equity specialist, has appointed experienced industry leader, Julian Ide, as its head of distribution and strategy.

MC said Ide is a proven asset gatherer, “with the ability to identify and realise new business opportunities”.

He will have responsibility to further broaden and build the firm’s global distribution capability across geographies and solutions.

He joins a six-strong executive team based in Edinburgh, and will work collaboratively with them to drive the company’s distribution ambitions.

This key strategic hire is the fourth for the business since the turn of the year and follows the appointment of Zehrid Osmani, who joined in May from BlackRock, as head of the global long term unconstrained team.

Mr Ide brings over 25 years’ experience in the investment management industry, having held several senior positions during his career, most recently as CEO at Source ETF, one of the largest independent ETF providers in Europe, sold to Invesco in 2017.

Prior to that, he was CEO at Old Mutual Global Investors, which was one of the fastest-growing asset managers in the UK for several years. His distribution expertise was developed and deepened through senior positions including Credit Suisse and ABN AMRO.

He holds a Masters in Law from Cambridge University and an LLB from Guildford Law School.

Willie Watt, chief executive at Martin Currie said: “Julian Ide is a crucial hire for our business, as we look to step up our distribution momentum and increase the accessibility of our highly differentiated investment strategies to a global marketplace. We have established a strong presence in the institutional and wholesale markets with the active equity-driven investment solutions we offer our clients.

“Given Julian’s strategic experience and previous success, it is right that he should have responsibility for developing our forward strategy, in partnership with me. I am really excited to be working with Julian and believe he can make a huge contribution to building this business.”

Mr Ide added: “Martin Currie is a high conviction active equity manager benefiting from the best of both worlds in asset management – operating autonomously as an affiliate of Legg Mason whilst benefiting from the strength of their global network.

“As a forward-thinking asset manager, Martin Currie also remains committed to providing innovative solutions which will meet existing and future client needs. I’m enormously excited to play my part in driving the next phase of Martin Currie’s growth strategy.”

Martin Currie manages a total of US$19 billion in assets under management as at end March 2018 across its four key investment strategies: Market Aware; Long-Term Unconstrained; Sustainable Income and Growth; and Absolute Returns.