SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Itaú Asset Management has hired Eduardo Camara Lopes to lead portfolio solutions, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Tuesday, as Brazil's No. 2 money manager bets on strategies tailored to the risk profile of both large and small clients.
Camara will join from independent asset manager Mauá Capital, where he led structured credit, the person said. A former banker at Itaú Asset's parent, Camara also worked for Corttex Capital and Ashmore Brasil, the person added.
Itau Asset - an arm of Itaú Unibanco Holding SA, Brazil's No. 1 bank by assets - is championing the use of so-called portfolio solutions in recent years. While widely used across North America, Europe and Japan, the approach, which combines elements of goal-based and liability-driven investing, remains relatively new in Brazil.
He replaces Tatiana Grecco, who recently joined parent Itaú Unibanco's treasury, said the person. Itaú declined to comment.
Camara's hiring came as the country's 3.85 trillion-real ($1.2 trillion) industry gears up to what many investors see as a prolonged period of low interest rates in Latin America's largest economy.
Brazil's benchmark index is close to an all-time high as foreign investors snap up domestic stocks on expectations President Michel Temer's reform agenda could reignite growth and rebalance fiscal accounts.
Portfolio solutions embrace different approaches, including liability-driven investing - where asset managers help clients increase assets to meet their future liabilities. Another is goal-based investing, focused on meeting lifestyle targets and which grew popular after the 2008 financial crisis in helping investors avoid exposure to severe market corrections.
($1 = 3.1186 reais)