Oliver Cassin is Head of Investments and Research, where he leads the firm’s research department. He rejoined bfinance in 2023, having previously worked at the firm from 2000 to 2014. Before coming back to the firm he held senior roles at BNY Mellon, where he managed the UK and European Institutional Sales team and more recently Client Solutions, and at Lyxor Asset Management as Head of UK Institutional Sales. Olivier has worked in the financial services industry since 1994. He holds an MBA from Aston Business School and an MSc in Management from Kedge/Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Bordeaux.

Peter Hobbs is Managing Director of Private Markets and a member of the Senior Management Team. His division covers Real Estate, Infrastructure, Private Equity and Private Debt, providing a range of services including portfolio design, manager selection and due diligence. Peter has over 30 years of both principal investing and research experience. He joined bfinance from MSCI where he was Managing Director for Real Estate Research and Key Global Accounts, responsible for portfolio analysis, benchmarking and risk services. Prior to this, he held roles with IPD, RREEF (the alternatives asset management division of Deutsche Bank) and Property & Portfolio Research. In 2015 he was shortlisted for Outstanding Industry Contribution at the IPE Real Estate Global Awards. Peter has a PhD and is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS). To read insights from Peter and his team: CLICK HERE.

Anish Butani joined bfinance in April 2017 to provide specialist coverage to clients seeking to deploy capital to the Infrastructure sector and support initiatives in Real Estate and Private Equity Markets. Anish has over 10 years of experience in total, which included 8 years with KPMG Corporate Finance based in London, where he was a senior member of the infrastructure corporate finance team. Anish has significant experience acting as an M&A and valuations advisor to global infrastructure fund managers across all sub-sectors in the asset class, including renewable energy, regulated utilities, transport and social infrastructure.

Prior to joining bfinance, Anish was at John Laing Group plc, the international investor in infrastructure, where he was responsible for leading and shaping divestment processes of their infrastructure project portfolio. Anish has a degree in Economics, Politics and International Studies from Warwick University.

Trevor is a Managing Director in bfinance’s private markets team. He was formerly Deputy CIO and Investment Director at LPPI, the investment management collaboration between Lancashire County Pension Fund and LPFA.  Prior to that he was Deputy CIO at LCPF, with broad responsibility for alternative asset allocations which included Private Equity, Private Credit, Real Estate and Infrastructure.

Whilst at LCPF, Trevor oversaw significant changes in portfolio strategy which included the creation of a groundbreaking £1.5bn allocation to alternative credit.  He has long been a champion of the inclusion of alternative investments to create efficient investment portfolios and has been recognised by numerous industry awards including the Institutional Investor European peer-to-peer award for ‘Best use of Private Markets’.  In October 2018, PDI magazine named him as one of the 30 global most influential investors in private debt.  Trevor is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and holds an MA from Cambridge University.

Anna has joined the Private Markets team at bfinance as a Senior Director to focus on the private equity asset class. She has 20 years’ experience in investing and managing global private equity programs for institutional investors, working both in Australia and then in the United Kingdom for the last 10 years. She has held over 10 Advisory Board positions with programme sizes of $180m to c.$1bn, and has significant research and due diligence experience across strategies and geographies.

Thibault joined the Private Markets team at bfinance in early 2019, to focus on credit strategies. He has over a decade of banking experience across various corporate debt structuring, origination and advisory roles. Having started his career in Acquisition Finance at BNP Paribas and Barclays, Thibault then moved to Debt Capital Markets at BNP Paribas (Liability Management) and Lloyds Bank (Corporate DCM), before leveraging this dual background in a Debt Advisory role at Centrus Advisors. Thibault is a graduate of ESSEC Business School (French Grande Ecole).

Julien is a Director within the Private Markets team, specialising in Private Equity and Real Estate. Prior to returning to bfinance in November 2020, Julien was Managing Director of GS Invest, a real assets investment boutique based in London. In this role he was responsible for strategic planning, evaluation and implementation of business opportunities. Julien also managed and coordinated day-to-day activities and was responsible for the long term business strategy implementation.

Prior to joining GS Invest, he spent 11 years with bfinance. Julien focused on equity asset allocation, investment manager reviews, investment manager selection and Smart Beta engagements. He has co-authored a number of articles on Smart Beta. Julien was also heading the team of analysts in charge of supporting research. He has previous experience at Fortis Banque Monaco. Julien has a first class BSc in Applied Mathematics from the Sophia Antipolis - Nice University, France and a Masters in Finance specialising in Risk and Asset Management from Edhec Business School, Lille-Nice, France.

Harry is a Director within the Private Markets team, specialising in real estate and infrastructure. Harry joined the firm in January 2019, having spent over four years as an investment consultant at PwC. Harry holds an MSc in Finance and Development from University of London, a first class honours degree in Economics from the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and is a CFA charterholder.

Robert is a Senior Director within the Public Markets team, specialising in equity manager research. Robert joined bfinance as an Associate in 2015, having spent five years as a manager research analyst at a UK-based private wealth management firm. Robert holds an MSc in Investment Management from Cass Business School, graduating with distinction, and a first class honours degree in Accounting & Finance from the University of Warwick. Robert has previous experience within the Private Client Services team of Ernst & Young LLP. Robert is a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI).

Weichen joined bfinance in July 2019 as a Senior Associate within the Public Markets team, specialising in equity manager research. Prior to bfinance, Weichen spent five years as a manager research analyst at Alvarium Investments, a UK-based investment boutique. Weichen holds an MSc in Economics from University College London and a BSc in Information Security from Fudan University, China. Weichen is a CFA charterholder and he speaks fluent Chinese Mandarin.

Martha joined bfinance in January 2021 as a Director in the Public Markets team, specialising in equity manager research. She has over 8 years’ experience in the fund management industry, most recently as an investment analyst responsible for equity manager monitoring at Stamford Associates, a UK-based investment consultancy. Martha holds a BSc in Economics from the University of Nottingham.

Mathias is Head of Public Markets and a member of the firm's Senior Management Team. He joined bfinance as a Senior Associate in March 2008 focusing on manager research and selection in fixed income. He was named Head of Public Markets in 2014, managing a team of asset class specialists in charge of investment advisory within listed equity and fixed income. Before joining bfinance he worked for RBC Dexia in Luxembourg, most recently as Product Manager for Investment Analytics services. Mathias started his career in the investment fund industry in 2003. He is a CFA Charterholder and holds a master’s degree in business administration from the University of St. Gallen (Lic. Oec. HSG) in Switzerland.

Xavier Blaiteau joined bfinance in February 2017 as an Analyst within the Public Market team. Prior joining bfinance, Xavier spent two years at Lyxor AM in manager selection for both Mutual Funds and Hedge Funds. He holds a Masters degree in Finance from ESSCA, France.

Toby Goodworth is Head of Liquid Markets at bfinance, and a member of the firm's Senior Management Team. Previously Toby was Head of Risk Management at Key Asset Management, one of Europe's oldest fund of hedge funds, where he designed and ran the firm's bespoke risk models. Prior to that he was a risk analyst focusing on quantitative global equity strategies. Toby holds a Ph.D in Physics from University College London and a First Class honours degree in Physics, also from UCL.

Chris is a Director within the Diversifying Strategies team and is responsible for liquid alternative and multi-asset research. Chris joined bfinance as an analyst in May 2011 from JM Finn & Co where he worked in client services. Chris graduated from the London School of Economics with a Masters in the Philosophy of Science and also holds a BA (Hons) in Philosophy from the University of Warwick. Chris is also a CFA and CAIA Charterholder.

Prav is a senior associate within the Diversifying Strategies team responsible for liquid alternatives and multi-asset research. Prav joined bfinance as an Analyst in 2015, following the completion of his MSc in Investment Management from Cass Business School and an BSc honours degree in Economics from the University of Surrey.

Duncan Higgs is a Managing Director overseeing bfinance’s Portfolio Solutions division including portfolio strategy, risk analytics, fee reviews, portfolio monitoring and other services. He has 15 years of experience in investment consulting, including advisory and fiduciary services. Before joining bfinance he was a Director at Willis Towers Watson, where alongside his main responsibilities he was also part of the core team driving technology change in the investment business. 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.

Geraint is a Director of Portfolio Monitoring.  Geraint joined bfinance in 2015.  Geraint was previously Co-Head of Quantitative Research within the Skandia Investment Group, with responsibility for the quantitative monitoring of a wide range of multi-manager products and asset classes.  Geraint has the IMC and a BSc in Mathematics with Actuarial Studies from the University of Southampton.

Ruben is responsible for the development, maintenance and delivery of bfinance’s investment risk services and support to clients. He joined bfinance in 2015 as research analyst involved across public and private markets manager selection projects. Ruben completed his MSc in Quantitative Finance in Econometrics and Operational Research from the Erasmus University in Rotterdam, where he attained his BSc in Econometrics and Operational Research from Erasmus University too.

Matthew Siddick is a Senior Director in bfinance’s Portfolio Solutions team and leads the firm’s Operational Risk Solutions division. He has more than 15 years of experience in investment consulting across both advisory and fiduciary services. Prior to joining bfinance he was an Associate Partner at Aon and Head of EMEA Operational Due Diligence. Matthew graduated with first class honours in Economics from the University of Sussex and holds the CAIA (Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst) designation.

Sarita leads bfinance’s ESG advisory unit and is responsible for the firm’s ESG and sustainability initiatives. Sarita works closely with the firm’s research teams where she provides oversight and expertise on ESG and impact, driving the continuous development and implementation of ESG frameworks across asset classes. This is alongside supporting clients globally on their responsible investment journeys and leading on internal sustainability initiatives. Sarita was formerly Head of ESG Research at XPS Pensions Group and has more than a decade of experience in financial services, pensions and investments. Prior to joining bfinance, Sarita was also investment consultant to several UK corporate pensions schemes allowing her to take a bigger picture view when working with clients on responsible investment. She sits on the firm’s Responsible Investment Committee and is Chair of the firm’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee. Sarita is a CFA Charterholder and holds an Honours Bachelors degree with a double major in Economics and Human Geography from University of Toronto, Canada.