BNP Paribas Asset Management appoints Head of Flexible & Absolute Return

8 September 2022

BNP Paribas Asset Management (‘BNPP AM’) announces the appointment of Mark Richards as Head of Flexible & Absolute Return within its Multi-Asset, Quantitative & Solutions (‘MAQS’) investment division. Mark is based in London and reports to Maya Bhandari, Global Head of Multi-Asset. He joined on 5 September.

In his new role, Mark will be responsible for the performance of BNPP AM’s flexible and absolute return funds and ensuring the alignment of portfolios with the views of the Investment Committee. He will also work closely with the other teams within MAQS to exchange investment ideas, as well as contributing to the development of the broader MAQS product range as it expands its innovative offering.

Mark joined from Jupiter Asset Management, where he was a senior fund manager responsible for identifying and implementing key investment themes across a range of flexible and multi-asset strategies. Prior to Jupiter he held buy-side strategist roles at JP Morgan Asset Management and PIMCO, and sell-side strategist roles at Credit Suisse and ING, having begun his career as an economist at Lombard Street Research. Mark holds a BSc in Business Economics from the University of Surrey.

Maya Bhandari, Global Head of Multi-Asset at BNP Paribas Asset Management, comments:

“Mark has more than 20 years’ experience of economics and financial markets experienced gained at leading sell-side and buy-side institutions, during which time he has successfully generated and implemented investment ideas across a range of countries, sectors, factors and themes. His addition to the team will be invaluable as we expand our multi-asset capabilities and continue to deliver sustainable returns to our investors in a challenging macroeconomic environment, and I look forward to working with him.”

MAQS manages assets totalling EUR 135 billion, including around EUR 116 billion in multi-asset portfolios on behalf of institutional and intermediary clients globally. BNPP AM’s flexible and absolute return range includes total return, target return, target volatility, thematic and income funds.

Source: BNP Paribas