The UK-based mutual fund transaction network business, Calastone, has appointed Sebastien Chaker as head of its new Luxembourg office, adding to a slew of news announcements from the company in recent weeks. The move is part of Calastone's entry into the Luxembourg market, a spokesperson for the firm said.

Mr Chaker joins Calastone from Brown Brothers Harriman Limited where he was global head of Fund solutions Business Development based in London since January 2007. Prior to this, Mr Chaker worked for Euroclear in Brussels where he was a director in the investment funds product management division, with primary responsibility for defining and implementing Euroclear's FundSettle global funds strategy.

He has worked in the investment funds market for 15 years, holding positions at firms including Citibank.

Firms are linking to Calastone’s network in their droves, typically citing the opportunity to remove manual order entry processing as the driver behind their decision. Through being able to send transactions and orders electronically they aim to reduce costs and risk, and also gain a real-time view of order acceptances/rejections and pricing information.  Other firms recently connected to Calastone are Deutsche Bank Private Wealth Management UK, Aviva, JO Hambro Capital Management and F&C Asset Management.