AMF/AP3 – Former Swedish finance minister Pär Nuder has left his position as chairman of the supervisory board for the SEK590bn (€56.5bn) pension fund AMF. Nuder is also stepping down as chairman of the supervisory board for AP3 after holding the position for the maximum term of eight years.The Confederation of Swedish Enterprise (Svensk Näringsliv) – a co-owner of AMF – said Nuder believed recent media attention should not be allowed to cause AMF damage. Nuder has recently been the subject of allegations in the Swedish media, which he has denied. AMF supervisory board member Marie Rudberg will take up the position of acting chair until a suitable replacement has been found. Alecta, AMF, Alpima, PGB, Waterbouw, Morningstar, Merian Global Investors, LGIM, Willis Towers Watson, GAM, Franklin TempletonAlecta – Hans Sterte has been appointed deputy chief executive at Alecta. He has been CIO at the Swedish pension fund since the spring of 2018 and will continue this work in this role alongside the new position, to which he was promoted at a supervisory board meeting on 14 March.Alecta said that Katarina Thorslund, who is currently deputy chief executive and head of clients, will continue in both of these roles. Before coming to Alecta, Sterte was at Swedish pension fund Skandia where he headed up asset management, and before that, he worked at pensions and insurance company Länsförsäkringar. Nicolas MoreauAlpima – Former DWS chief executive Nicolas Moreau had joined the advisory board of London-based fintech firm Alpima. He is currently CEO of Ladbroke Advisory, an independent consultancy he set up at the start of this year after leaving DWS in October .At DWS Moreau oversaw its rebrand from Deutsche Asset Management and its listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. He has also led AXA France and AXA Investment Managers, both as CEO. Alpima offers pre-built rules-based investment portfolios across a range of asset classes, as well as allowing investors to code their own quant strategies.PGB – Edwin de Jong has started as director of the administrative bureau of the €25.2bn Dutch multi-sector pension fund PGB, succeeding Hans van Vliet who has retired. De Jong joined from consultancy Sprenkels & Verschuren. Prior to this, he was a consultant at Willis Towers Watson for 25 years. He is also an independent adviser for pensions and actuarial matters.Within PGB’s board, Jochem Dijckmeester has succeeded Frans de Haan as deputy chairman. Dijckmeester has been a trustee representing employees since 2016. He is tasked with strategy and public affairs. De Haan remains on the board, responsible for relationship management.Waterbouw – Clemens Heijne is the new director of the administrative bureau of the €1.3bn Dutch industry-wide pension fund for hydraulic engineering (Waterbouw). In addition, Susan Oomens-Simons has started as board and policy adviser. They replace Berend Keddeman and Jan van Doorn, who were chief executive and director, respectively. Keddeman and Van Doorn will stay on as board advisers until 1 April.Morningstar – The investment research provider has hired the former co-CEO of Munich’s stock exchange as its new head of Germany and Austria, effective 1 April. Jochen Thiel will be responsible for business development and managing key client relationships with banks, advisory firms, asset managers, and consultants.Thiel was co-CEO of Bayerische Börse, the operator of the Munich Stock Exchange, for five years until the end of 2017, and has also held senior roles at Deutsche Börse and Capco. He is currently an advisory board member at 12Tree, an institutional investment house focused on ecologically and socially sustainable agriculture projects in Latin America.Merian Global Investors – The UK-based asset manager has promoted Dominik Issler to head of EMEA distribution. He has worked at the company – previously known as Old Mutual Global Investors – since 2015, when he joined from Martin Currie to lead distribution in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. He will continue to oversee this region alongside Benjamin Huegli.In a statement, Merian said the creation of the EMEA distribution role reflected the company’s focus on expanding in Europe, following the opening of its Zurich office in 2015. It has since opened an office in Milan, and plans to target Spain, Portugal, France, Benelux, and the Nordic region.Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) – The UK’s largest investment manager has appointed Lisa Purdy as head of fiduciary distribution, tasked with growing LGIM’s fiduciary business across existing and potential clients.She joins from Lloyds Bank where she was corporate pensions director responsible for distributing pension services to commercial customers. She has also worked as an investment consultant and business development leader at Aon Hewitt.Willis Towers Watson – The investment consulting giant has appointed Anne Swift as a senior director in its advisory investment services team, focusing on defined contribution (DC) pension schemes. She joins from KPMG where she served as head of DC investment and has previously worked at Aon, BlackRock and Deutsche Asset Management.GAM – Michael Lai, the Swiss investment house’s lead manager for China and Asian equities, is to leave the company later this year. In a statement, GAM said he would “be working with us over the coming months to ensure an orderly and smooth transition”. The portfolios he runs will transfer to Rob Mumford and Yu-Heng Fan, subject to regulatory approval.Lai has worked for GAM since 1998, having joined from Trust Company of the West where he was responsible for Asian portfolios. Prior to this he was an investment manager at BZW Investment Management.AMP Capital – The AUD187.2bn (€117.2bn) Australian asset manager has appointed former Apple operations director Thomas Preising as a senior adviser to its infrastructure business. He worked at the tech giant for 14 years before leaving in 2018, and is currently an adviser to fintech startup Metafused.AMP said Preising would “bring his extensive experience of large-scale and efficient business operations in varied market environments, as well as his deep understanding of the tech industry and its growth”.Franklin Templeton – Nicole Vettise has joined Franklin Templeton as an institutional portfolio manager in its emerging markets equity team. She joins from BlackRock where she managed a team of product strategists for a range of equity strategies. She has also worked as an institutional portfolio manager at RBC Global Asset Management, and previously worked at JP Morgan Asset Management. read more

“It is based upon Unique Group’s robust Seaflex Mono Buoyancy unit design, which has a proven track record of over 20 years and has been used by several navies as a lifting device. Unique Group has merged its expertise in survey and buoyancy technology with Dutch UXO experts Bodac to develop an unexploded ordnance lifting & safe disposal system (UXO-LSDS). The system paves the way for contactless mine recovery. “We are constantly driven to improve our offerings and develop new products which help our customers solve their challenges safely and efficiently. “This has led us to collaborate with Bodac in the build of the UXO-LSDS. “Our system can support in explosive ordnance relocation, recovery and neutralization with full safety.” The UXO-LSDS consists of a housing for two 9l, 300 bar composite cylinders and a Sonardyne acoustic lightweight release transponder. Working with known UXO weights and water depths, the UXO-LSDS can be precisely filled to begin the UXO recovery, with the excess air vented out from the pressure release valves. Wilbert Beilsma, general manager Unique Group Netherlands, said: read more

The Coliseum fell silent as sophomore quarterback JT Daniels received medical attention with 27 seconds to go in the first half after taking a sack and losing a fumble. Junior running back Stephen Carr had USC’s first two touchdowns against Fresno State Saturday night. (Ling Luo/Daily Trojan) Daniels performed well before he departed, completing 10-of-11 passes for 74 yards and a touchdown pass to running back Stephen Carr on the team’s first drive. New offensive coordinator Graham Harrell’s Air Raid offense was on full display from the start as the Trojans built a 14-0 lead early in the first quarter. After Fresno State scored a field goal off of Vaughns’ fumble, the score was 17-13 USC, and it seemed that the Bulldogs had all the momentum. As USC fans were holding their breath, recognizing the importance of the next drive, junior wide receiver Velus Jones Jr. returned the kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. Jones also had a long return on the game’s opening kickoff, but the 61-yard play was called back after the Trojans received a penalty for having two players on the field wearing the No. 7. Fresno State drove nearly all the way downfield on the Trojan defense, and it looked like the outcome could be a repeat of so many devastating games for the Trojans last season. With fewer than two minutes to go, redshirt sophomore Isaiah Pola-Mao came up with an interception in the end zone just as the Bulldogs had a chance to tie the game. “There’s lots to clean up for us,” Helton said. “I thought we left some opportunities out there and thank goodness for a stout defense at the end … So we’ve got a lot to do, a lot to fix before the next game, but we’re 1-0, and we’ll get it corrected and get going.” After the Trojans’ back-to-back scores, the momentum once again shifted in favor of Fresno State, as the Bulldogs punched in a field goal and a touchdown on consecutive drives to bring themselves within one possession of the Trojans.  Slovis also threw an interception, got tackled trying to hand off the ball on fourth down and nearly fumbled the last snap of the game. The Trojan defense held up on the next drive, and two big plays — a 27-yard run by Carr and a 41-yard pass to Vaughns  — brought the Trojans into the red zone once again for a touchdown, giving USC a 31-13 cushion. Jones’ score gave the fans in the stadium a much-needed boost after Daniels’ injury. Even though the Trojans’ performance was riddled with mistakes, redshirt senior defensive lineman Christian Rector said he was satisfied because the team won. “I always judge their eyes, and there was no fear [from Slovis],” Helton said. “He had one interception on a deep ball, but he had another deep ball that put us in scoring position. He did things in a tough position to win.” “Gut-wrenching,” head coach Clay Helton said of Daniels’ injury. “You see a kid who’s poured so much into the game and into this team and into his becoming better both physically and mentally as a quarterback. I said a prayer as soon as I saw it and I hope we’ll get the best results tomorrow and see where it lies.” Slovis’s first play was a handoff for a 6-yard gain. After a short gain on another handoff, Slovis threw to senior wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. for a one yard loss, then a slant which was fumbled by redshirt junior Tyler Vaughns.  With so much uncertainty heading into a matchup with rival Stanford at the Coliseum next Saturday, though, the Trojans will need to pick up their level of play against better competition. “As a player you have to give hope,” Jones said. “I felt like I gave my team hope and energy to make sure we were successful at the end of the day.” The coaching staff called upon true freshman quarterback Kedon Slovis to step in for Daniels. Slovis unexpectedly earned the backup spot as a three-star recruit out of Scottsdale, Ariz. Despite the mistakes, Helton said he was proud of the young quarterback for stepping in to lead the team in Daniels’ absence. Helton said that the nature of Daniels’ injury is still unclear as his X-ray came up negative, but that he would receive an MRI after the game. Helton will reveal the results during his weekly conference call Sunday evening. It was one of many moments during USC’s 31-23 victory over Fresno State that made it feel as though the Trojans hadn’t won the game at all. read more