Kedge Capital, the Jersey-based multi-family office which serves the multi-billionaire Bertarelli family, has appointed Jonathan Little to build a global asset management business as chief executive.

Little was latterly acting co-head of BNY Mellon Asset Management, his departure from the New York-listed firm being reported by this publication yesterday.

Little, who joined BNY Mellon in 2000, has been the director of a number of asset management companies, including Newton Investment Management, Pareto Investment Management, Walter Scott and Partners, EACM Advisors, Alcentra, Hamon Investment Group and Blackfriars Asset Management.

He is also chairman of Insight Investment Management, a director and former chairman of BNY Mellon Asset Management International and WestLB Mellon Asset Management.

Prior to joining BNY Mellon, Little held senior roles at JP Morgan and Fidelity Investments.

“European and US banks are facing capital constraints and massive regulatory changes, which will inevitably lead them to refocus their businesses. In this environment, smaller asset managers with good products but who lack distribution or access to capital will look to revise their ownership structure,” said Little.

Kedge has said it will commit “substantial new capital” to building its global asset management business; this will include the acquisition of small and medium investment management firms and the sponsorship of successful fund management teams.

The Bertarelli family’s wealth derives from the sale of Serono, its global biotechnology firm, to Germany’s Merck in 2007. Today the family invests in several business areas through Kedge Capital, which has offices in Jersey, London and Geneva.