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David Ness
Senior Director, Client Consulting
David is a Senior Director and client consultant for bfinance US. With over 20 years of investment management and financial services history, he brings a wealth of experience to the client consulting position at bfinance.
Prior to joining the team at bfinance, he launched the institutional business line for Crescent Grove Advisors where he also was a member of the model portfolio and investment committees. David served in several investment roles within BMO Global Asset Management and M&I Investment Management Corp. With BMO/M&I, he held positions as an institutional portfolio manager, financial analyst, and interim Treasurer of the Marshall Funds. David began his career with Waterhouse Securities where he held roles as an investment consultant and advisor.
David earned his MBA from Marquette University and his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay in Economics. David is a member of the CFA Society of Milwaukee.
More insights from the team:
Private credit and the asset allocation challenge
Increasingly, asset allocation models are treating Private Credit as a strategic asset class with its own clearly defined profile, rather than an implementation solution within a fixed income or...
bfinance Platform: real assets, UK open-ended property funds in five charts
M&A activity, such as the recent news of the combination of the Columbia Threadneedle and PATRIZIA UK property funds fits a neat narrative.
Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - August 2026
bfinance's quarterly report for August 2026: read the team's latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite, market developments and asset manager performance across all major...
Investor Spotlight: PGB - can impact investing become the default setting for private markets portfolios?
While many asset owners continue to debate the role of impact investing, Pensioenfonds PGB has already made its choice. The Dutch pension fund has decided that new private markets investments should...
Investor Spotlight: KWAP - navigating technological shifts in quant equities
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) is Malaysia’s public sector pension fund and a key government-linked investment institution. Over the past decade it has built a quantitative...
Semi-liquid funds: managing the structural liquidity mismatch
Redemptions from US semi-liquid private credit funds continue to dominate the headlines. Often presented in absolute terms – 'billions redeemed' – without adequate context, much of the nuance around...
Investment Management Fees: Pricing pressure in the turbulent twenties
The latest instalment in the bfinance Fee and Cost Insight series highlights recent price pressures in both private and public markets as the turbulent twenties change the competitive landscape.
Why don’t MAC strategies typically include emerging market debt?
Emerging market debt offers yields that are hard to ignore. Yet across 47 MAC strategies reviewed by bfinance, a half allocated less than 10% to it and a third less than 1%. This piece sets out...
Markus Steinby
Director, Client Consulting
Markus is a Director and client consultant for bfinance in the Nordics, where he supports a range of investors in making better informed investment decisions across asset classes. With more than 20 years of experience from global investment markets across public and private asset classes, he has gained hands-on experience from managing investment processes, manager selection and due diligence, investment analysis and equity research provides. Before joining bfinance in 2025, Markus has held senior roles at MSCI, Aberdeen Asset Management and SEB, among others.
More insights from the team:
Private credit and the asset allocation challenge
Increasingly, asset allocation models are treating Private Credit as a strategic asset class with its own clearly defined profile, rather than an implementation solution within a fixed income or...
bfinance Platform: real assets, UK open-ended property funds in five charts
M&A activity, such as the recent news of the combination of the Columbia Threadneedle and PATRIZIA UK property funds fits a neat narrative.
Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - August 2026
bfinance's quarterly report for August 2026: read the team's latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite, market developments and asset manager performance across all major...
Investor Spotlight: PGB - can impact investing become the default setting for private markets portfolios?
While many asset owners continue to debate the role of impact investing, Pensioenfonds PGB has already made its choice. The Dutch pension fund has decided that new private markets investments should...
Investor Spotlight: KWAP - navigating technological shifts in quant equities
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) is Malaysia’s public sector pension fund and a key government-linked investment institution. Over the past decade it has built a quantitative...
Semi-liquid funds: managing the structural liquidity mismatch
Redemptions from US semi-liquid private credit funds continue to dominate the headlines. Often presented in absolute terms – 'billions redeemed' – without adequate context, much of the nuance around...
Investment Management Fees: Pricing pressure in the turbulent twenties
The latest instalment in the bfinance Fee and Cost Insight series highlights recent price pressures in both private and public markets as the turbulent twenties change the competitive landscape.
Why don’t MAC strategies typically include emerging market debt?
Emerging market debt offers yields that are hard to ignore. Yet across 47 MAC strategies reviewed by bfinance, a half allocated less than 10% to it and a third less than 1%. This piece sets out...
Ian Lyu
Director, Client Consulting
Ian possesses more than eight years of experience in the investment management industry. He began his career at Perpetual, one of Australia’s largest asset management firms, and prior to joining bfinance, he worked at a placement agent, specialising in connecting alternative investment managers with institutional investors across Australia.
Ian joined bfinance in February 2025 as a Client Consultant, working out of our Sydney office, where he focuses on enhancing the firm’s presence in Australia and New Zealand. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Finance from Western Sydney University.
More insights from the team:
Private credit and the asset allocation challenge
Increasingly, asset allocation models are treating Private Credit as a strategic asset class with its own clearly defined profile, rather than an implementation solution within a fixed income or...
bfinance Platform: real assets, UK open-ended property funds in five charts
M&A activity, such as the recent news of the combination of the Columbia Threadneedle and PATRIZIA UK property funds fits a neat narrative.
Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - August 2026
bfinance's quarterly report for August 2026: read the team's latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite, market developments and asset manager performance across all major...
Investor Spotlight: PGB - can impact investing become the default setting for private markets portfolios?
While many asset owners continue to debate the role of impact investing, Pensioenfonds PGB has already made its choice. The Dutch pension fund has decided that new private markets investments should...
Investor Spotlight: KWAP - navigating technological shifts in quant equities
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) is Malaysia’s public sector pension fund and a key government-linked investment institution. Over the past decade it has built a quantitative...
Semi-liquid funds: managing the structural liquidity mismatch
Redemptions from US semi-liquid private credit funds continue to dominate the headlines. Often presented in absolute terms – 'billions redeemed' – without adequate context, much of the nuance around...
Investment Management Fees: Pricing pressure in the turbulent twenties
The latest instalment in the bfinance Fee and Cost Insight series highlights recent price pressures in both private and public markets as the turbulent twenties change the competitive landscape.
Why don’t MAC strategies typically include emerging market debt?
Emerging market debt offers yields that are hard to ignore. Yet across 47 MAC strategies reviewed by bfinance, a half allocated less than 10% to it and a third less than 1%. This piece sets out...
MEET OUR CLIENT CONSULTANTS
Putting investors first
USA
David Ness
Senior Director, Client Consulting
David is a Senior Director and client consultant for bfinance US. With over 20 years of investment management and financial services history, he brings a wealth of experience to the client consulting position at bfinance.
Read more
Brooke Bowen
Director, Client Consulting
Brooke Bowen is a Director and Client Consultant for bfinance US. Brooke has over 8 years of financial services industry experience working primarily with high-net-worth advisors and Registered Investment Advisors (RIAs).
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Alexander McHenry
Director, Client Consulting
Alexander McHenry is a Director and Client Consultant for bfinance, focused on business development across the wealth management and institutional client segments. He brings over a decade of financial markets experience spanning investment management, intermediary distribution, and high net worth client advisory, with particular depth in manager selection and portfolio construction.
Read moreCANADA
Les Marton
Managing Director
Les oversees the business development and relationship management of bfinance in Canada. Les has worked in financial services for over 30 years, with more than two decades of experience in asset management. Prior to joining bfinance in 2017 he held a number of senior roles at Scotiabank (Managing Director, Head of Cap Intro and Hedge Fund Consulting, Head of Global Alternative Asset Group) and Scotia Capital (Managing Director).
Read more
James Harkness, P.eng
Senior Director, Client Consulting
James is a Senior Director at bfinance Canada, focusing on business development and client relationships with institutional investors. He has more than 25 years of experience across financial technology, data analytics and investment management.
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Philip Coté
Director
Philip Coté is a Director at bfinance Canada. Philip has more than 16 years of financial services industry experience across institutional investment consulting, manager research and product development roles. Prior to joining bfinance Philip was a Director at Pavilion Alternatives Group where he led manager research and due diligence assignments in the area of private markets investment, with a focus on real estate, infrastructure and private debt.
Read moreUNITED KINGDOM
Sam Gervaise-Jones, CFA
Managing Director, Client Consulting
Sam Gervaise-Jones leads client consulting with strategic clients in the UK. Sam has over 20 years of experience in financial markets. He joined bfinance in 2004 where, as a Senior Associate in the research team, Sam advised clients on manager selection in a wide range of asset classes.
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Jill Compton
Senior Director
Jill is a Senior Director at bfinance, serving a diverse range of asset owners including pension, endowments, wealth and insurance companies with portfolio ranging from USD 100m to well over USD 100 billion. She has over 15 years of experience in financial markets and joined bfinance in 2018, advising clients in the UK & Ireland on investment implementation across public and private markets.
Read moreEUROPE
Frans Verhaar, CFA, CAIA, FRM, FDP
Managing Director, Head of Continental Europe
Frans leads bfinance’s Continental European team overseeing client relationships and business development across the continent supported by the offices in Munich, Paris and Rome. With over 17 years of experience at bfinance, Frans has been instrumental in helping institutional investors navigate complex investment challenges, providing tailored solutions that deliver measurable results.
Read moreFRANCE
Sarah Ablin
Director, Client Consulting
Sarah is a Director of Client Consulting. Sarah has extensive experience in investment consulting and a deep commitment to delivering exceptional client outcomes. She works closely with French institutional investors, supporting them with tailored manager selection, portfolio design and strategic advisory services.
Read moreGERMANY
Matthias Grimm
Senior Director, Client Consulting
Matthias Grimm is a Senior Director of Client Consulting for the DACH region. He has more than 15 years of specialised experience advising institutional investors on complex investment challenges.
Read More
Armin Dolzer
Director, Client Consulting
Armin Dolzer is a Director of Client Consulting for the DACH region, with a focus on insurance sector clients. He brings nearly two decades of experience advising institutional investors on complex investment challenges, with particular depth in the insurance industry. His expertise spans asset-liability management, portfolio strategy, investment risk, and the unique regulatory and operational requirements facing German and broader DACH insurers navigating increasingly complex markets.
Read MoreITALY
Ottavia Sebastiani
Senior Director
Ottavia is responsible for advisory services for Italian institutional clients and has been part of the advisory team of bfinance since 2007 based first in London and then in Rome.
Read moreNORDICS
Markus Steinby
Director, Client Consulting
Markus is a Director and client consultant for bfinance in the Nordics, where he supports a range of investors in making better informed investment decisions across asset classes.
Read moreAUSTRALIA
Frithjof van Zyp
Senior Director
Frithjof has over 15 years of experience in the investment management industry. Frithjof started his career with eVestment, a global provider of institutional investment manager data and analytics. Frithjof held numerous roles at eVestment, which included opening and managing their offices in Australia and Hong Kong from 2009-2014.
Read more
Ian Lyu
Director, Client Consulting
Ian possesses more than eight years of experience in the investment management industry. He began his career at Perpetual, one of Australia’s largest asset management firms, and prior to joining bfinance, he worked at a placement agent, specialising in connecting alternative investment managers with institutional investors across Australia.
Read moreMIDDLE EAST & ASIA
Yohei Omichi
Senior Director, Client Consulting
Yohei is the Head of Japan and a Senior Director at bfinance, where he leads the firm’s presence in the Japanese market and supports institutional investors in making well informed decisions across a broad range of asset classes. With more than two decades of experience in the investment industry, he has developed deep expertise in client engagement and portfolio solution.
Read more
Amir Saleem
Senior Director
Amir is a Senior Director at bfinance and leads work with our clients in the Middle East & South East Asia. He joined bfinance in 2015 initially working closely with both the CEO and Global Head of Client Consulting on a range of strategic initiatives.
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Hugh McMahon
Director, Client Consulting
Hugh is a Director at bfinance, focused on client relationships across Europe, the US and the Middle East. He brings over 12 years of experience across institutional capital markets and alternatives, with a track record of building and managing senior-level relationships with pension funds, family offices, sovereign investors and institutional allocators.
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Marco Stigler-Thomas, CFA
Director
Marco is a Director operating from our Munich office. Prior to joining bfinance, he was Vice President and Account Manager for PIMCO, focusing on client servicing for Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Central Eastern Europe. He has also held previous roles as an intern at Deutsche Bank Asset and Wealth Management in Frankfurt, focusing on passive investment solutions, and completed an internship with the third-party investment services and products team of Credit Suisse in Zurich. He has more than 10 years of investment experience and is a CFA Charterholder. He holds a CEMS Master’s in International Management and a master's degree in finance from Copenhagen Business School. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maastricht.
More insights from the team:
Private credit and the asset allocation challenge
Increasingly, asset allocation models are treating Private Credit as a strategic asset class with its own clearly defined profile, rather than an implementation solution within a fixed income or...
bfinance Platform: real assets, UK open-ended property funds in five charts
M&A activity, such as the recent news of the combination of the Columbia Threadneedle and PATRIZIA UK property funds fits a neat narrative.
Manager Intelligence and Market Trends - August 2026
bfinance's quarterly report for August 2026: read the team's latest insights on institutional investor activity, risk appetite, market developments and asset manager performance across all major...
Investor Spotlight: PGB - can impact investing become the default setting for private markets portfolios?
While many asset owners continue to debate the role of impact investing, Pensioenfonds PGB has already made its choice. The Dutch pension fund has decided that new private markets investments should...
Investor Spotlight: KWAP - navigating technological shifts in quant equities
Kumpulan Wang Persaraan (Diperbadankan) (KWAP) is Malaysia’s public sector pension fund and a key government-linked investment institution. Over the past decade it has built a quantitative...
Semi-liquid funds: managing the structural liquidity mismatch
Redemptions from US semi-liquid private credit funds continue to dominate the headlines. Often presented in absolute terms – 'billions redeemed' – without adequate context, much of the nuance around...
Investment Management Fees: Pricing pressure in the turbulent twenties
The latest instalment in the bfinance Fee and Cost Insight series highlights recent price pressures in both private and public markets as the turbulent twenties change the competitive landscape.
Why don’t MAC strategies typically include emerging market debt?
Emerging market debt offers yields that are hard to ignore. Yet across 47 MAC strategies reviewed by bfinance, a half allocated less than 10% to it and a third less than 1%. This piece sets out...
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