The move means that the new European sales head will devote considerable time in the Swiss and German markets. The firm, which operates in the alternative asset classes space, has named two other senior colleagues as part of its European build-out.

Nasdaq-listed private markets investment management firm Hamilton Lane is pushing into the European market, serving private wealth and institutional channels. As part of the expansion, it has named Ralph Aerni as head of European sales.

Aerni has nearly 20 years of investment, business development and management experience – including as co-owner and chief investment officer of SCM Strategic Capital Management, which was sold to Mercer Private Markets in 2015. At Mercer, Aerni served as global co-CIO, chairman of the investment committee and business development in Europe. Most recently, he was the head of business development at a European investment management firm. 

As part of his remit, Aerni will devote significant periods of time in the firm's Frankfurt office as well as in Switzerland, Hamilton Lane said in a statement yesterday.

Freddie Gore Browne and Rainer Kobler have also joined as vice presidents on the private wealth distribution team. They will focus on increasing the distribution of the firm's Global Private Assets Fund, open to high net worth and wholesale investors in parts of Europe (as well as in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East). 

Gore Browne, who is responsible for capital raising from private wealth channels, including private banks and family offices, will be based in the UK. He joined the firm after founding and managing a food business, Prime. Previously, he served as a VP with Pinebridge Investments, where he ran intermediary sales in the UK and France. Gore Browne also worked for Citibank in New York as part of the Mountbatten Program. He holds the Investment Management Certificate from CFA and Equity Portfolio Management from London Business School.

Kobler, who is responsible for capital raising from private wealth channels, including banks, asset managers and family offices, will be based in Switzerland. Prior to Hamilton Lane, Kobler worked at Partners Group in Zug between 2014 and 2021, where he was part of the Client Solutions Team covering distribution partners across Europe. He also spent time at a regional Swiss bank. He holds a master's degree in banking and finance from the University of St Gallen (HSG) in Switzerland.

Hamilton Lane employs more than 440 professionals operating in offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East. It has about $657 billion in assets under management and supervision, composed of approximately $76 billion in discretionary assets and approximately $581 billion in advisory assets, as of 31 December 2020.