Swiss bank Reyl, also present in Singapore, is building up an asset management firm devoted to impact investment. The head of the niche firm is poaching from rivals including her former shop, Syz.
Geneva-based Reyl named Katia Coudray as head of a new fund management arm, Asteria, it said in a statement on Thursday. The subsidiary of the bank will specialize in social and environmental impact investing, Reyl said.
Coudray, a veteran of Union Bancaire Privée, or UBP, and Banque Syz who joined Reyl in January 2019 has also made an investment in Asteria, Reyl said. The company aims to manage several billion by 2024, and Coudray is assembling a team of former colleagues around her to get there.
Specialists from Syz, Lombard Odier, Pictet
For François Reyl (pictured below), who is CEO of the parent Reyl, Asteria is a plan to reinvent asset management. The move follows the 2017 disposal of its RAM fund management subsidiary to Mediobanca.
Alongside Bolliger, Natacha Guerdat will oversee research. Guerdat has run Conser, her own sustainable finance and responsible investment firm for the last ten years. Previously, she was with Lombard Odier as a responsible investment analyst and later a thematic portfolio manager.
Francesco Genovese, a veteran of Pictet hired by Reyl last year, will join Asteria as head of distribution. Coudray is also hiring Fabio Sofia, who spent 13 years ago Genevan microfinance specialist Symbiotics, to oversee debt and private market investments.
