Pioneer Investments has bolstered its sales team in Spain and Portugal with the hire of Begoña Gomez as sales manager.

Gomez was latterly distribution sales manager at Amundi Asset Management and has previously worked for Credit Agricole Asset Management and Arcalia.

In her new role, Gomez will work closely with Almudena Mendaza, senior sales manager; together they will be responsible for distribution channel activities on the Iberian peninsula. Gomez will report to José Castellano, head of Iberia, North America Offshore and Latin America.

Castellano said that Pioneer is in the process of expanding its client base in Spain and Portugal with focus on distributors and private banks. The firm recently added Teresa Molins as senior sales manager in the region and the team now consists of five members across the sales desk plus operations support and marketing.

Both Spain and Portugal have had a rough ride of late. Portugal, together with Greece and Ireland, has long been one of the black sheep in the eurozone, while Spain, with unemployment well over 20 per cent and a budget deficit of 6.5 per cent, is often placed next to Italy in the “too big to fail” category.  

“We started our business in Spain in 2000, during the middle of another very complex environment,” said Castellano. “It is in these challenging times we need to be closer to the clients.”

Pioneer Investments originates from the US but has its head office in Milan. The company has still a substantial business in the US, especially in Boston where it was founded.