bfinance appoints Duncan Higgs as Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Solutions

 This appointment follows a period of rapid growth for the firm’s fastest-growing business area. Between 2018 and 2020 the volume of engagements handled by the Portfolio Solutions division increased fourfold while its revenues rose sixfold, due to strong demand for services including Strategic Portfolio Design, Risk Solutions, Monitoring, Fee Reviews and more. This has contributed towards improved diversification for the London-headquartered investment consulting firm, which first built a global reputation for its distinctive approach to Manager Selection. Recent years have also brought considerable geographical diversification, with offices now established in ten global locations – most recently Hong Kong (2020) and Rome (2020).

Duncan was previously a Director at Willis Towers Watson, where alongside his main responsibilities he was part of the core team driving technology change in the investment business. He has more than 15 years of experience in investment consulting, including both advisory and fiduciary services. Duncan also spent five years as a client manager at Cardano delivering tailored investment solutions to institutional clients. He graduated with a first class Master’s degree (with honours) in Physics from the University of Durham, is a CFA (Chartered Financial Analyst) charter holder and holds the IMC.

Bfinance’s former Head of Portfolio Solutions, Malcolm Hunt, stays with the firm as Head of Client Consulting – a new role in which he oversees senior client consultants in all international locations, improving global co-ordination and harmonisation of service provision as the firm continues to expand. The firm now has clients in more than 40 countries including DB and DC pension funds, superannuation funds, insurance firms, family offices, endowments, foundations, wealth managers, financial institutions, sovereign wealth funds and more.

Duncan Higgs, Managing Director and Head of Portfolio Solutions, says: “I’m excited to join this dynamic, independent firm. Having spent the bulk of my career in institutional client consulting, this role represents an opportunity to develop and deliver services to meet specific needs across a very diverse global client base.”

David Vafai, Chief Executive Officer, says: “We’re delighted to welcome Duncan to head up the Portfolio Solutions team, marking the next stage in a period of strong growth and development. Under his leadership this division will continue working with clients to address a wide variety of challenges, ranging from designing more robust portfolios and delivering sharper portfolio monitoring to identifying potential cost savings and efficiencies. In addition, we will continue to support future innovations that tackle clients’ evolving requirements.”