The latest developments, such as product and service launches, upgrades and changes, to the digital technology used by wealth managers.

AllianceBernstein, the global investment house, has launched four new open-ended investment company funds under its existing UK umbrella. Each of the funds are based on offshore vehicles, the firm, which has $629 billion in assets under management, said.

The offerings are Concentrated Global equity, Concentrated US equity, Low Volatility Global equity and Sustainable US equity funds. Each fund takes an active, bottom up stock and security selection approach and evaluates the environmental, social and governance criteria of each company to assess both risk and opportunity.

The ES AllianceBernstein Concentrated Global Equity OEIC is based on a similar strategy which has been running since 2013. It has been managed by Mark Phelps and Dev Chakrabarti since its inception and is run from AB’s London office.

The Strategy is a concentrated portfolio consisting of 25-30 holdings. The ES AllianceBernstein Concentrated US Equity OEIC is also based on a strategy which has been running since 2013, managed by Jim Tierney since inception. It selectively invests in high conviction ideas holding 20-25 stocks of US growth companies with strong fundamentals.

The ES AllianceBernstein Low Volatility Global Equity OEIC invests in global equity securities that offer compelling long-term return potential, while seeking to limit volatility and emphasize downside mitigation. It aims to have lower volatility than the broad global equity market by finding companies with truly defensive traits as a result of fundamental research and proprietary quantitative tools.

The ES AllianceBernstein Sustainable US Equity OEIC exclusively invests in themes derived from the UN Sustainable Development Goals (UNSDGs) in companies that provide products and services addressing these objectives. The focus will be on three themes: climate, health and empowerment investing exclusively in companies aligned with forward-looking sustainable investment themes.

Waypoint
Waypoint Capital, the Geneva-headquartered firm, has appointed Cyrus Jilla to its senior leadership team, focusing particular on the group’s Northill Capital business, taking up the role of CEO.

Jilla has been a president at Fidelity International Limited, parent of the global asset management business, where he had primary responsibility for FIL’s proprietary investments. Jilla started his career at Schroders, later joining Bain & Company where he became managing partner of its London office. He later spent several years as an executive board member of De Beers Group.

The new role means Jilla takes the helm from Gordon McNair, who held the Northill Capital CEO role on an interim basis last year. McNair reverts to his role as Waypoint’s group chief financial officer.

Waypoint has two principal areas of focus: asset management, and healthcare and technology. With offices in Geneva, London, Jersey, Boston and Luxembourg, Waypoint operates through a number of investment partnerships such as Kedge Capital, Northill Capital, Crosstree Real Estate Partners, Gurnet Point Capital and Forestay Capital.