Evidentia Group has hired a head of quantitative investments who joins the investment firm from AMP.
Pierre-Hedzer Marchi was previously the head of quantitative research at AMP, a role he began in January 2022, and previously spent five years in the quantitative team at AMP Capital.
Prior to that, he was a quantitative analyst on the absolute return strategy at boutique fund manager Strategic Capital Management, and also worked in Hong Kong and Paris.
In the newly created role at Evidentia, Marchi will oversee the development and execution of advanced quant strategies, integrating risk management and data-driven insights into the firm’s portfolio construction process.
It has also appointed Josh Phillips as a senior asset consultant, who joins from a position as a small-cap co-portfolio manager at Tyndall Asset Management. He previously spent four years at superannuation fund Aware Super in its direct equities team.
This is also a newly created position and Evidentia said his role will be to work with partner firms to collaboratively build and design tailored investment programs.
Evidentia Group provides tailored separately managed account portfolios and investment management services to private wealth firms.
Earlier this year, the firm was acquired by Generation Development Group (GDG).
The merging of the two firms, GDG said in an ASX statement, would provide a “leading end-to-end investment management and managed account solution for licensees, financial advisers and their clients with minimal overlap in client bases, product offerings and target markets”.
One attraction of Evidentia for GDG was its skills in managed accounts as it believes the managed account market is estimated to grow at 15 per cent per annum to $474 billion by 2030.
GDG chief executive, Grant Hackett, said: “This transaction represents another significant milestone in GDG’s growth strategy, following the successful acquisition of the remaining equity interests in Lonsec in 2024.
“Since launching in 2020, Evidentia has grown into a leading player in the rapidly expanding managed accounts market. The transaction presents a highly strategic growth opportunity for GDG, given the complementary nature of the Evidentia and Lonsec Investment Solutions businesses.
“Evidentia’s boutique tailored managed account solutions, client communications expertise and financial advice practice management experience, paired with Lonsec’s enduring heritage of knowledge, broad managed account offering and strength in research will deliver a more complete and scaleable offering.
“This will provide financial advisers and their clients with an even stronger value proposition, access to deeper insights, more extensive investment solutions and an integrated service experience that ultimately supports better outcomes for both financial advisers and clients.”
