The asset management arm of New York-listed BMO Financial Group is targeting expansion in Spain with a hire from BlackRock and a new office in Madrid.

BMO Global Asset Management has hired BlackRock's Luis Martín Hoyos as head of sales in Spain ahead of its launch of a new office in Madrid.

Hoyos joins from BlackRock where he was head of retail and institutional sales for the Iberia region. Before this, he served as senior sales manager at JP Morgan. In the newly created role, he will report to the firm's head of European distribution, Georg Kyd-Rebenburg. 

He will initially be based in London, before moving to the new Madrid office, which the firm plans to open in October this year. Hoyos will lead the distribution of the firm’s products and strategies in Spain, across its existing capabilities, such as F&C Investments, and soon to be launched strategies and products such as exchange-traded funds.

“We are pleased to have someone of Luis’ calibre and experience joining the firm, as we continue to expand our reach across Europe,” said Kyd-Rebenburg. “We look forward to leveraging his deep expertise to enable us to serve clients and prospects in this fast-growing market.”

BMO Global Asset Management, which acquired F&C last year, operates from 24 offices across 14 countries. It manages more than $244 billion in assets under management.