The investment manager has been increasing its research into global equity to provide more in-depth analysis for its employees.

Ashburton Investments, the investment management arm of the FirstRand Group, has appointed Robert Lea as head of global equity research.

In addition, investment manager Jonathan Aldrich-Blake will move from his current role to join the newly-created global equity research team, the firm said yesterday in a statement.

In the newly-created role, Lea will be responsible to head up the team which will provide analysis for the equity solutions range as well as Ashburton’s multi-asset strategy.

Lea was previously a global equity research sector head and strategist at UBS. He also spent eight years working in Asia during his time at UBS.

This appointment is part of Ashburton’s growth plan to bolster its equity research operation to provide its investment managers with more in-depth analysis, it said.