Thomson Reuters has tapped two executives to serve as the new leadership for Lipper: Lars Asplund as managing director and head and Robert Jenkins as the global head of research.

It also announced a new strategic focus for Lipper through the second half of this year: building out research and analytical tools for portfolio managers and financial advisors.

Many of these new offerings will focus on improving communication between advisors and their clients, such as so-called "CIO outsourcing" tools to help advisors and assemblers of portfolios build, and explain, their investment solutions to clients and educational tools to illustrate the impact of macro-economic and market factors on their investments. Many offerings will address the demand from individual advisors for advisor services and advice-based products.

Further, these offerings will address increased use within the industry of targeted solution and outcome portfolios, which have created demand for customized products sourced from both traditional and alternative managers.

“A common theme that runs through our strategy is for us to build on our partnerships throughout the fund management industry, from manufacturing to distribution to advice, by focusing on helping our clients succeed with their business,” stated Asplund, who joined the firm in January 2012. “The industry dynamics are changing rapidly across the globe and whether it is within areas of product innovation, distribution, or how portfolios are assembled we want to be positioned with our offering to help differentiate and provide valuable insights. Our next step is to address the trends and challenges outlined below by working with our clients to develop next-generation personalized tools and solutions that meet their needs.” 

  Asplund will report directly to John Fennelly, managing director and head of Wealth Management at Thomson Reuters, and is responsible for expanding the Lipper business.  He joined Thomson Reuters from Mercer Investment Consulting and brings 15 years of international experience in building businesses that track the fund industry.  At Mercer, Lars was the global head of analytics, research and tools, responsible for helping some of the world’s largest investment funds with due diligence and investment selection. Previously, he served as one of three founders of Morningstar Europe where he established the brand and built operations across ten markets. 

As head of Lipper Research, Jenkins will report directly to Asplund and will be responsible for developing and managing the global research strategy and engagement across Lipper as well as expanding research across Wealth Management.  Jenkins brings 20 years of financial services expertise with experience working on both the institutional and distributions sides of the business. He joins Lipper from consulting firm Alix Partners, where he was Director in the Financial Services & Asset Management practice.  Prior to Alix Partners, Jenkins was President & CEO of Financial Research Corporation, a firm focused on providing research and consultative services to the Asset Management Industry.

 

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