David LeeDavid Q. Lee, formerly a principal with Mercer Investment Consulting (Mercer IC) and a co-founder of alternatives consultancy Quentin Ayers, has been appointed to a senior role with a domestic funds manager.

After leaving the Melbourne office of Mercer IC in late 2008, Lee became director of portfolio construction with Hastings Funds Management, an alternatives manager based in Melbourne, on November 18.

Pat Lardner, executive director of capital markets with Hastings, said Lee is working closely with each the chief operating officers and team of each fund, which between them hold infrastructure, high-yield securities, private equity and timber assets.

Lee also heads research concerning the major macroeconomic forces driving portfolios and “utilises his extensive industry experience in the areas of alternate asset investing and new approaches to portfolio construction,” Lardner said.

"We’re drawing on his experience in working as an advisor of institutional funds to make sure we’re at the cutting edge of thinking."

After joining Mercer IC in June 2007, Lee worked on a range of projects and was a member of the alternatives specialist team.

Simon Eagleton, head of Mercer IC in Australia and New Zealand, said remaining employees had absorbed Lee’s responsibilities and that appointments had been made since his departure.

After co-founding Quentin Ayers with Gary Lines in 1994, Lee worked at the firm until 2002, when he moved on to become managing director of Citigroup Asset Management in New York and London from 2002 until 2003.

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