Russell Investments has expanded its asset consulting team with a recruit from South African financial services business Alexander Forbes.
Nick Curtin recently joined Russell from Investment Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alexander Forbes, where he had worked in the consulting and multi-manager teams since 2003. His roles at Investment Solutions included manager research for multi-manager products and implemented consulting. But at Russell he will undertake a traditional consulting role, reporting to Jim Franks, director of investment consulting. “Traditional consulting is the most intellectually challenging [type of consulting],” Curtin said. In recent weeks he has been working on internal reviews and research, and will begin interacting with clients in the next quarter. “In this market environment consultants should be earning their fees, when clients are asking really difficult questions […] We’re here to see clients through turbulent times and if we can’t do this then we shouldn’t be in business. “It’s a good opportunity for us to step up and take back some share of their time.” When Curtin was at Alexander Forbes, the business outsourced work to Russell. “I already knew Russell quite well from the outside,” he said.
There is one investment area where Insignia’s $180 billion super arm has not lost money for the past 17 years, which is what it calls the insurance-related investments. The alternatives strategy is gaining popularity among asset owners due to its diversification benefit, but Insignia’s super and asset management investment chief Dan Farmer warns it is a space where investors can suffer if they “stumble in without doing the homework”.
Darcy SongJanuary 23, 2025
