Manulife has appointed BlackRock veteran Anne Valentine Andrews as global head of private markets.
Valentine Andrews was previously managing director, global head of infrastructure and real estate at BlackRock, and also served on the company’s global operating committee, human capital committee, and the equity private markets executive committee.
She has more than 25 years experience in asset management and alternatives. Prior to BlackRock, she worked on Morgan Stanley’s infrastructure platform and at Macquarie Bank in both Melbourne and New York.
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At Manulife, she will lead all the investment teams and direct the overall private markets strategy across retail, institutional and retirement channels. She will be based in New York and will report directly to Paul Lorentz, president and chief executive of Manulife.
“We are excited to welcome Anne to our firm given her expertise and deep alternatives background,” said Lorentz.
“We are confident that her leadership will accelerate the growth of our private markets platform and deliver more for our clients. Individual and institutional investors alike are demanding broader access to private markets to strengthen their portfolios, find diverse sources of alpha, and achieve their investment goals.
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“We’re committed to the continued expansion of our global private markets platform to help our clients pursue attractive opportunities for long-term returns.”
Manulife currently manages approximately $120bn (£94.96bn) of private market assets including private credit.
“I’m delighted to join Manulife to lead private markets globally,” added Valentine Andrews.
“The firm has over a century of strong history from its roots as an insurer and has a foundation of world-class investment performance, risk management, sustainability, and client-centricity.
“Manulife’s ability to manage alternative assets for clients and within its insurance platform allows for additional scale that can create exciting product development initiatives and co-investment opportunities.
“I look forward to working alongside the team to continue delivering for clients and to accelerate the growth this platform is uniquely poised to capture.”
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