Former Janus Henderson exec named CIO at Principal AM
Principal Asset Management has tapped George Maris as its chief investment officer and global head of equities.
He will be responsible for managing the firm’s 126 investment professionals across global investment centres and its $221.2 billion in equities assets under management.
Maris will also serve as a portfolio manager on international equity strategies and on the firm’s active fundamental public equities strategies, including international mutual funds, variable annuities and the Principal Life Insurance separate account.
Kamal Bhatia, global head of investments at Principal, said the firm is continuing to sharpen its global equities capabilities as it evolves.
“We’re excited to bring George on board as a leader and portfolio manager to help advance our offerings across domestic, international and emerging market equities, all of which are sought-after active management strategies with our clients,” Bhatia said.
“His expertise and perspective – combined with our teams’ depth of experience – will create an exceptional value proposition for our retail, retirement and institutional clients worldwide.”
Commenting on his appointment, Maris said: “As the investment landscape becomes more challenging and our clients’ needs grow, there is an increased need for investors who can successfully manage the risks and take advantage of the opportunities that are constantly present in markets.
“I look forward to partnering with the strong team at Principal to successfully navigate these risks and opportunities in order to generate successful outcomes for our clients.”
He joins Principal AM from Janus Henderson Investors US, where he was the executive vice president and lead portfolio manager of the Global Select/Global Alpha and the Overseas/International Alpha equity strategies for 12 and a half years.
He was also the head of equities, Americas, at the firm for over five years.
Prior to Janus Henderson, Maris served as a portfolio manager for Northern Trust Global Investments where he was the lead portfolio manager of domestic core, international core and global equity strategies for almost three years.
He was also a portfolio manager at Columbia Management Group on its large-cap and mid-cap core domestic equity strategies for four years.
In August, the asset manager welcomed former Goldman Sachs head of global pensions and multi-sector fixed income portfolio management, Michael Goosay, as managing director of global fixed income.
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Rhea Nath
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