Pictet Funds, the wholly-owned fund distribution company of Swiss private bank Pictet & Cie, has announced that it has applied for UK distributor status for its Luxembourg Sicav funds. And as part of its UK onshore launch, the Swiss company will issue sterling share classes for a selection of its Luxembourg-domiciled funds. Paul Gaston has been hired as head of UK sales and will be based in London and will report to Laurent Ramsey, chief executive of Pictet Funds. He will work in parallel with Elizabeth Dillon who is head of Cross Border and US Sales. Mr Gaston was previously at Goldman Sachs and Fidelity. According to Mr Ramsey, Pictet Funds specialise in innovative products and he makes special mention of the organisation’s sector funds: biotech; water; clean energy and premium brands. Pictet Funds employs 170 people in 10 offices worldwide. It has over SFr60 billion in assets under management.