BNP Paribas Investment Partners has partnered with BNP Paribas Corporate and Investment Banking to create THEAM, a unit that will aim to specialise in index, active systematic, guaranteed and alternative portfolio management.

THEAM will combine BNP Paribas Asset Management's SIGMA teams with those of Harewood Asset Management, created in 2004 at the initiative of BNP Paribas CIB's equity derivatives teams.

THEAM is said to be a way of merging “two specialists” with complementary skills aiming to better serve their clients.

It will draw in part on the SIGMA team’s knowledge of index and guaranteed portfolio management, risk allocation and absolute return strategies, while Harewood AM will provide knowledge in systematic funds, the use of innovative underlying assets and funds of hedge funds.

THEAM will be chaired by Dominique Hoenn, while Gilles Guérin takes the reins as chief executive. Denis Panel has been named chief investment officer and Alexandre Mojaisky is the new chief operating officer.