Mirabaud Investment Management, the fund management division of the Geneva-based private bank Mirabaud, has promoted David Kneale to the newly-created post of head of the UK equities team.

Kneale, who was previously a fund manager, will assume his new role at the start of next year, upon which he will report to Philip Watson, Mirabaud Investment Management’s chief investment officer, overseeing a team of four. A further hire is planned for the team in due course, a spokesperson for the firm also told WealthBriefing.

Kneale has been with Mirabaud since 2001, having previously worked for the strategy consulting firm Halogen Enterprises, specialising in the life assurance and asset management sectors.

In other recent developments at Mirabaud Investment Management, earlier this month Alex Illingworth was appointed to the firm’s new global equities desk in a hire described at the time by Giles Morland, managing director of Mirabaud London, as an “important step” in the development of the team. Illingworth’s prior  career includes roles at C Hoare & Co, UBS, Rothschild Asset Management and Insight Investment Management.