Research Affiliates expands Australian team

Research Affiliates has announced the appointment of Adam Willis as the firm's Sydney-based senior vice president, client strategies.

In this role, Willis will be responsible for managing relationships with institutional investors, industry funds, and investment consultants, and will join Mike Aked, director of research for Australia, based in Melbourne, and Prashant Pandey, vice president, client strategies, based in Newport Beach, in working with the Australian investment community.

Willis was previously head of index & multi-asset distribution at Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM). Before this, he served as executive director, head of sales at MSCI.

Commenting on his appointment, Katy Sherrerd, Research Affiliates' CEO, said: "Adam's experience in working with sophisticated institutional investors and consultants on factor strategies in their portfolios is an excellent fit with the already impressive team Research Affiliates has assembled in Australia."

Willis added: "I look forward to bringing my experience working with institutional investors on factor-investing strategies to help the Australia-focused team grow Research Affiliates' presence and influence in one of the world's most important financial marketplaces."