(London) – Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva plc, announces it has appointed James Edwards as Head of UK Institutional, as it continues to build-out its dedicated resources and capabilities for institutional investor clients across global markets.
James will be based in London and report to Steven Gardner as Head of Institutional, EMEA, who himself joined Aviva Investors in August 2024, where he is responsible for developing the asset manager’s institutional strategy across the UK and EMEA regions.
James joins Aviva Investors after spending the last seven and a half years at Colombia Threadneedle where he was Director of Institutional Business. Prior to that, he was a Director at BlackRock as part of its Fixed Income product strategy team, covering unconstrained and absolute return fixed income strategies. James also spent nearly six years as a Client Director at the business, where he was responsible for UK Institutional Clients, covering a broad set of asset classes and investment strategies. He has also held roles at Barclays Global Investors and BNY Mellon.
James’ appointment follows a number of hires to expand Aviva Investors’ institutional team globally, most recently through the appointment to its Institutional capabilities in the Americas, with Julie Caron joining the business as Head of Institutional, Americas, and Dean Liotta as Managing Director, Institutional, Americas.
In January, Aviva Investors announced it had appointed Heather Brown as Head of EMEA Institutional Client Relationship Management, having previously led Aviva Investors’ UK Institutional sales team. Heather’s appointment was followed in February by Duane Green joining the firm, where he is CEO, Americas.
Steven Gardner, Head of Institutional, EMEA, at Aviva Investors, said:
“Institutional investors remain a vitally important group of clients and it is critical we have the right personnel in place to help them reach their long-term objectives. Adding James to our team is another sign of the commitment we have to providing these investors with exceptional expertise and a sound understanding of the challenges they face. We believe his deep knowledge across asset classes and his strong Solutions mindset will be invaluable. We look forward the positive impact he will have on our UK institutional business and the clients we work on behalf of.”
