US insurer MetLife has appointed Jason Funk to head MetLife Investment Management (MIM)'s new business development in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. He is expected to help grow MIM's institutional asset management business in the region.
Funk, an American lawyer by training who lives in London, joins MetLife from Lyxor Asset Management, a unit of French bank Societe Generale that specialises in alternative investments. Funk also worked at Aurum Funds, an alternative investment group, and at Strathmore Capital, an alternatives investment business.
Insurers are expected to allocate more of their assets in the alternative investments sector, to escape low fixed income yields and a gyrating stock market. Consequently, there might be further people moves from the alternatives sector towards insurers and asset managers servicing insurers.
Separately, MetLife announced this week that it had formed a real estate investment venture with New York State Common Retirement Fund, the third largest public pension fund in the US. MIM will manage the venture, which kicks off with an investment in seven properties valued at more than $1.4bn. MetLife owns 50.1% of the joint venture, having sold a 49.9% stake to the Common Fund.
MIM, formed four years ago, manages around $20bn on behalf of third-party investors in various asset classes including real estate equity, real estate debt and private placements.
MetLife, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is one of the largest life insurance companies in the world. The insurer said last week it plans to separate a large part of its US retail business as it contests federal regulators over its "systemically important financial institution" designation.