Absolute return webinar | Insight Investment

Julie O'Connor

Consultant Relations Director, Insight Investment Management (Europe) Ltd

Julie joined Insight in October 2022 as a Consultant Relations Director. Julie joined Insight from Vanguard Asset Management having joined as Head of Distribution Change Management in 2017, subsequently moving to be Manager of Distribution and Branch Oversight for Vanguard’s European funds’ business for three years. Julie began her career at Allied Irish Bank, moving on to spend six years as a Valuations Manager for Bank of New York Mellon and subsequently at M&G Investments. Julie has a Professional Diploma in Financial Advice and Professional Certification as a Designated Person in a Fund Management Company from University College Dublin. She is a Qualified Financial Adviser.

Serkan Bektas

Head of Client Solutions Group, Member of the Executive Management Committee

Serkan joined in 2012 and is Head of the Client Solutions Group (CSG) at Insight. The CSG includes Insight’s Solution Design, Client Relationship Management, Client Service and Investment Specialist teams. The CSG is focussed on the effective design of our solutions and the achievement of our clients’ objectives and interfaces with our clients on all aspects of their Insight experience from investment strategy input to relationship management to day-to-day interactions. In September 2018, Serkan became a member of Insight’s Executive Management Committee.

He joined Insight from DTZ where he was an Executive Committee Member and Global Head of Investment and Asset Management. Prior to this, Serkan spent nine years at Barclays Capital where he co-founded and managed the bank’s risk management solutions business for UK defined benefit pension schemes. He started his career working as a management consultant at the New York office of Booz Allen & Hamilton Inc.

Serkan holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College (USA), as well as a BSc in Electrical Engineering and a BSc in Physics from Bogazici University (Turkey). Serkan also holds his Series 3 license and is an Associated Person with the National Futures Association.

Thomas Donohoe

Chief Investment Officer, Insight Europe

Thomas joined Insight in August 2019 with responsibility for overseeing investment management activities associated with Insight’s funds. Thomas is the Designated Person for Investment Management Oversight and the Chief Investment Officer for Insight Investment Management (Europe) Ltd. Prior to joining Insight, Thomas had over 10 years’ experience as an investment consultant with LCP and Aon Hewitt providing specialist advice to institutional pension scheme trustees on investment strategy, risk management and investment manager research. Thomas graduated from University College Dublin with a Bachelors in Actuarial & Financial Studies (first class honours) and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Colm McDonagh

Chief Executive Officer, Insight Europe

Colm is CEO of Insight Investment Management (Europe) Limited, Insight’s EU-domiciled entity headquartered in Dublin since his appointment in December 2020. He joined Insight in 2008 as Head of Emerging Market Fixed Income, responsible for the investment team and associated products globally. He is a senior member of the global investment management team, the Global Research Macro Group, and Chair of Insight’s Sovereign ESG Group.

He has 25 years’ experience of working in the financial services industry (23 years in asset management) across a number of senior positions. Prior to joining Insight, he had roles as a partner at Hydra Capital and as Head of EM Debt at Aberdeen Asset Management. He started his career at Bank of America in 1996. Colm obtained his Bachelor of Business and Legal Studies degree from University College Dublin.

Lennox Hartman

Head of Consultant Relations EMEA

Lennox joined Insight in August 2017 as Head of Consultant Relations EMEA. Prior to Insight, Lennox spent 17 years at Aon Hewitt. Here, he was Global Head of Fixed Income Manager Research where the team’s remit covered traditional and unconstrained fixed income strategies as well as LDI approaches. He was also a member of Aon’s Global Investment Committee. Prior to joining the research team he was part of the Client Consulting Team. Lennox holds a BSc in Statistics and Actuarial Science from the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. He also holds a certificate in Investment and Finance from the Institute of Actuaries.

Hossein Nikoopour

Client Director, Client Solutions Group

Hossein joined Insight’s Client Relationship Team in August 2012 as a Client Director responsible for servicing institutional clients in the UK. Prior to joining Insight, Hossein worked at Orbis as a Client Manager responsible for servicing an institutional client base in the UK and Middle East. He previously spent nine years at Russell Investments in a number of roles including time as an Investment Consultant, providing strategic advice to a range of institutional clients. Hossein started his career with Lonworld Investments as an Investment Analyst. He holds a BSc degree in Economics from University College, London. Hossein also holds the Investment Management Certificate from the CFA Society of the UK and the Investment Advisory Certificate.

Reena Thakkar

Client Director, Client Solutions Group

Reena joined the Client Relationship Management Team as a Client Director in January 2023. She is responsible for servicing large, segregated clients investing in a range of asset classes.

Prior to joining Insight, Reena spent seven years at Momentum Investment Solutions & Consulting as a lead advisor to large UK defined-benefit clients, advising on all aspects of investment strategy, asset allocation and mandate design. Prior to Momentum, Reena spent nine years at Mercer in a similar role, where she also held a number of management responsibilities. Prior to Mercer, she spent eight years at Willis Towers Watson, working as a consultant in the UK and the US, across a broad range of employee benefits.

In all the roles she has held, Reena has been responsible for managing client relationships and junior associates. Reena graduated from Oxford University with a MEng in Engineering, Economics and Management. She is also a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.

Hannah Ní Riain

Senior Solution Designer, Client Solutions Group

Hannah joined Insight in January 2018 and is a Solution Designer in the Client Solutions Group. Hannah works on the design and delivery of investment solutions tailored to address the specific risk and return objectives of Insight’s clients. Prior to joining Insight, Hannah spent three years at Lane Clark & Peacock. Here, she helped with the development and implementation of investment strategies for trustees. She was also a member of the LDI and Derivatives Research Team. Hannah graduated from University College Dublin with a BAFS (First Class Hons) in Actuarial and Financial Studies and is a Fellow of the Institute of Actuaries in the UK.

Philip Senior, CFA

Senior Solution Designer, Client Solutions Group

Philip is a Senior Solution Designer in the Client Solutions Group, where he works on the design and delivery of investment solutions tailored to address the specific risk and return objectives of Insight’s clients. Philip initially joined Insight in March 2013 as a Solution Designer, focusing on segregated clients, before transferring to Insight’s Client Relationship Management Team as a Client Director, in January 2019. Here, he spent five years servicing clients in France, Ireland and the UK across the full range of asset classes before re-joining the Solution Design Team, focusing on pooled fund clients, in January 2024. Prior to joining Insight, Philip spent two years at UBS working in their debt capital markets division, creating structured finance solutions for Northern European financial institutions. He began his career in 2009 as an analyst specialising in asset-backed securities at Rabobank. Philip graduated from Oxford University with a MEng in Engineering Science and is also a CFA charterholder.

Emily Tann

Solution Designer, Client Solutions Group

Emily joined Insight in July 2019 and is a Solution Designer in the Client Solutions Group. Emily works on the design and delivery of investment solutions tailored to address the specific risk and return objectives of Insight’s clients. Prior to joining Insight, Emily spent five years at Hymans Robertson as an investment consultant. Here, she advised DB and DC pension scheme clients on funding and investment strategy, manager selection and LDI. Emily graduated from Oxford University with a Masters in Mathematics (First Class). She also has an MSc (Distinction) in Actuarial Science from Cass Business School and is a Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries.