Aberdeen has appointed Graham Duce and Aidan Kearney as co-heads of multi-manager investments within the group’s alternative investment strategies business. 

They will oversee a 40-strong team of investment professionals responsible for Aberdeen’s GBP13.5bn long-only multi-manager and fund of hedge funds portfolios.

The decision to unify the teams and investment processes under Duce and Kearney follows the departure of Michiel Timmerman, chief investment officer – multi-manager investments, who joined Aberdeen earlier this year from RBS Asset Management. This move brings together the long-only and hedge fund of fund businesses from both Credit Suisse and RBS.

Previously Duce and Kearney were co-heads of the multi-manager fund business that they brought with them following Aberdeen’s acquisition of selected fund management assets from Credit Suisse. Their expanded remit will now encompass the long-only multi-manager and funds of hedge fund portfolios acquired from RBS Asset Management earlier this year.

Duce and Kearney will continue to report to Anne Richards, head of alternative investment strategies and chief investment officer of Aberdeen Asset Management.

Richards says: “Graham and Aidan bring a wealth of experience and expertise to the role and are supported by highly regarded and award-winning teams of investment and operational specialists who originally joined Aberdeen from both RBS Asset Management and CSAM. An increasing number of our underlying managers offer both long-only and hedge fund strategies and by combining the teams we will achieve the greatest impact from our teams' joint experience.”