People love reading about their industry peers moving jobs and the asset management industry is no different. The people move stories are consistently high in reader numbers and 2022 certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard. Some major players in the sector moved on to different jobs – and AMWatch’s readers were curious to find out more.

There is one caveat here though. Our most read story – in this list for both subscribers and non-subscribers – is not a people moves article in the traditional sense; it’s not about someone changing employers or launching their own business. Nevertheless, this story deserves at least an honorary mention, as it’s a story about an important person in the asset management sector moving on. This article is also among our five most read by subscribers, highlighted in this article. It’s about Jesper Kirstein deciding to close down his consulting company and life’s work after 30 years. It came as a major surprise to many, but he opted to close down due to health reasons. 

AMWatch has interviewed Jesper Kirstein many times over the years, and the editorial team wish him all the best in the future.

Our second most read people news article is the one about three private equity veterans, who, merely two months after disclosing their departure from Nordea AM, announced the launch of Jera Capital, an investment firm focusing on the private equity secondary market.

Next on the list is a story which must have come as a blow to Danske Bank: “Denmark’s biggest asset manager loses flagship team to global manager”, which explains how global manager Janus Henderson poached a quartet of portfolio managers from the Danish manager’s emerging market debt team.

Then an article that is also featured high up on our “most read by subscribers” list. It’s about Nordea Asset Management, the largest asset manager in the Nordics, hiring a trio to boost its new alternative investment unit. Henri Valpas, Christian Ankerstjerne and Alexander Westenberg all joined the team between January and February 2022.

Next up is a story that was also widely reported in the Swedish financial media. Hans Sterte, the chief investment officer of Sweden’s largest and Europe’s fifth largest occupational pension fund Alecta, announced that he was leaving. After many years as head of investments and CIO at various major pension funds and companies in Sweden, he wanted to do something else: Become an advisor, a board member, or launch his own business were the alternatives mentioned. He eventually ended up joining asset management consultancy House of Reach at the end of 2022.

Number six on our list is not a people move per se, but a major promotion. In “NAM names new head of Nordic, Finnish and Swedish equities”, we reported that Nordea AM appointed Marie Karlsson as new head of Nordic, Finnish and Swedish equities. She has worked at the bank’s asset management arm since 2014 and received praise for successfully restructuring the Finnish equity strategies.

Some other people-related stories that readers found appealing throughout the year include the following:

Velliv brings in chief economist from major US bank

Alfred Berg continues Swedish push with NAM veteran and new institutional sales head

Sasja Beslik leaves PFA for Japanese impact manager

Dane wins CFA institute’s top prize for second time in three years

Europe’s biggest manager expands Nordic team with senior hire

Danish Goldman Sachs AM star reaches new heights

Nordea veteran is leaving: Difficult case became an eye-opener

Don’t hesitate to reread our article about the most-read by subscribers in 2022 as it has been updated with links that are working.