Under the partnership, Millenium Associates will bring a quarter of a century of transaction experience and one of the most established advisory networks in European private banking and wealth and asset management to Ittikar's members: more than 100 founding members within a network of 500 family offices across Europe, Switzerland, the Middle East, Latin America and Asia. Millenium Associates' clients will benefit from Ittikar’s platform option where family offices and entrepreneurs will be able to analyse deals, invest and raise capital directly with one another, matched by Capital DNA™ rather than publicly broadcast to the market.

Millenium Associates' transaction team are available to work alongside Ittikar's investment team on the review of transactions before they are published on the network, and the two firms will be able to take the combined proposition to family offices and entrepreneurs across Europe and the Middle East. The founders have known and collaborated with each other for over 15 years.

"We have been approached by many platforms this year. We like Ittikar because the people behind it have spent 25 years in the same rooms we have, because it is built for the investor rather than the seller, and because it has already closed several real transactions,” Soudah said. “Analysis is becoming a commodity, whereas the network and the judgment are not, and Ittikar's innovation has both. Our clients and our network will now have the option of direct access to families and entrepreneurs who can invest with greater wisdom and confidence."

Hussam Otaibi, founder of Ittikar and Mondevo Group, added: "I have known Ray Soudah for over 15 years as a veteran of our industry, and there is no one whose judgement on a transaction I would rather have alongside our platform agents. Technology on its own is not an edge; everyone will have it. The edge is people who have done this for a living for 25 years and now work with that technology every day. Our ambition with Millenium Associates is to be a leader in Europe and the Middle East with exactly that combination of experience and technology."

The partnership has begun immediately. In the coming months Millenium Associates will progressively introduce Ittikar to its clients and network, and the two firms will begin joint work on transactions in Europe and the Middle East.

Utmost
, a global provider of insurance-based wealth solutions with assets under administration of £123.4 billion ($165.64 billion), has appointed Rikard Havander (pictured below) as head of sales Sweden.

Rikard Havander

He will be responsible for leading the commercial development of Utmost’s partner relationships and new business opportunities throughout Sweden as the business continues to deepen its presence in this territory.

Havander, who has been with the business since 2016, originally joined Lombard International before it was acquired by Utmost in 2024. Prior to this, he spent more than 23 years at SEB. With a well-established network across the private banking sector, the ultra-high net worth and HNW communities and senior decision-makers in Sweden’s corporate sector, Havander brings proven sales and business development experience to the role, the firm said in a statement.

“Utmost has established a strong international footprint and pre-eminent positions in a number of strategically important European markets, including Sweden,” Stephen Atkinson, global head of sales and marketing at Utmost, said. “The appointment of Rikard reflects our ambition to capitalise on this strong platform for growth by strengthening our commercial relationships and expanding our presence in Sweden. His extensive experience and market knowledge will be invaluable as we pursue these opportunities.”

Neuberger
, an independent, employee-owned investment manager, has appointed Michael Bech as head of institutional client group – Nordic region. Based in Copenhagen, he will lead the firm’s institutional efforts and support distribution activities across the Nordics.

Bech is joining from BNP Paribas, where he served as head of private debt solutions for the Nordic region from 2023. He was responsible for all private markets distribution to institutional clients in the region. Since 2026, he also supported client relations as a director in the financial institutions clients group, covering financial institutions, asset management and banking groups.

Prior to BNP Paribas, Bech was head of private credit and chief investment director at Danske Bank Asset Management, where he managed the private credit investment strategy and portfolio. Previously, he spent three years at PFA Asset Management as principal, private credit and alternative investments, where he was responsible for managing the firm's private credit investment programme. Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade at Danske Bank, most recently as first vice president, leveraged finance, where he was responsible for the origination, structuring and portfolio management of primarily private equity-backed transactions.

“Michael brings a strong combination of client experience, investment expertise and deep knowledge of the Nordic market,” Fekko Ebbens, head of Europe institutional client group at Neuberger, said. “His experience across both investment management and private markets, together with his longstanding relationships across the region, will be highly valuable as we continue to develop our business with Nordic institutions.”