The former head of multi-asset-class investing at Vontobel, Livio Dalle, has joined Kairos Julius Baer as senior portfolio manager, the latter firm said in a statement late last week.

His role is co-manager of network funds with a focus on customised management products, the firm said.

“Dalle is enthusiastic about this opportunity to be part of an ambitious development plan that, in addition to the asset management company, also encompasses the newly created Kairos Julius Baer and plans to establish a private bank in Italy offering wealth management and financial advisory services,” the statement said.

As reported in June, Zurich-listed Julius Baer has acquired a 19.9 per cent stake in Kairos Investment Management, after having reached a transaction agreement with the Milan-based firm. The combined business in Italy operates under the name Kairos Julius Baer SIM. A new private bank is being established in Italy.

Dalle is already “fully active at the Kairos office in Milan”, it said.

After graduating with degrees in business from the Luigi Bocconi University in Milan and political science from the State University of Milan, Dalle began his career in 1997 with Banca Popolare di Novara as an equity manager, before moving on to Caboto SIM, where he handled sales and proprietary trading for institutional investors. Dalle then worked for Mediobanca as an analyst in the Financial Institutions Group and in 2001, he joined UBS Italia as Head of equity. In 2008, he was named head of special mandates for Banca Leonardo.