Harcourt Investment Consulting has announced the appointment of Mily Phan, who will be joining Harcourt in Geneva as a director within the business development team and will be responsible

Harcourt Investment Consulting has announced the appointment of Mily Phan, who will be joining Harcourt in Geneva as a director within the business development team and will be responsible for the French market starting on April 1.

Says Tom Ferrazzo, head of Harcourt's office in Geneva: 'We are excited to have Mily joining the business development team. She is a great professional and we have no doubt she will add significant value to Harcourt's reputation in France.'

Before joining Harcourt, Phan was director of business development for Europe at Capital Fund Management in Paris. Her previous positions included vice-president for alternative investments with Zurich Capital Markets (UK) in London and Geneva.

Harcourt is a leading international provider of alternative investment solutions for institutional investors, including the City of Zurich Pension Fund, Novartis, Barclays and Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management. Founded in 1997, the company is located in Zurich with offices in New York, Hong Kong, Stockholm, Madrid, Geneva and Grand Cayman. Harcourt, which is exclusively focused on alternative investments and is majority-owned by its strategic partner, the Swiss private bank Vontobel, employs more than 70 staff.

Harcourt posted assets under management of USD4.5bn at the end of December, up by USD1.4bn billion, or 45 per cent, from the previous year. According to the firm, the increase came from a mix of existing and new clients, with the majority of inflows from institutions. At the end of last year institutional investors accounted for assets of USD3.8bn, compared with USD2.65bn a year earlier.