Universal Investment Group, a fund administrator based in Germany, has appointed Katja Mueller as non-executive director to the board of its Ireland-based ‘super’ management company (ManCo).
Mueller is chief customer officer at Universal Investment Group and has expertise in fund administration and distribution gained over 25 years, including 12 years at Deutsche Bank Group, said the firm.
She joined Universal Investment Group in 2014 and is currently responsible for relationship management across all customer groups and sales, marketing and external communications.
ManCos are the regulatory and compliance entities for asset managers and can be outsourced to third parties. ‘Super ManCos’ is a term used to describe management companies that span investment products across traditional investments and alternative investments.
The firm said its Irish fund platform is key to the group’s growth strategy, and Keith Milne, CEO Universal Investment Ireland, said Mueller’s appointment demonstrated the importance placed on Ireland as a jurisdiction.
Last year, Michael Reinhard, chief executive of Germany’s Universal Investment Group, revealed the internationalisation of its business was a key reason for entering the Irish ManCo market when it acquired the 350-year-old family-owned Metzler Ireland Limited, sister company to Germany’s oldest private bank.
The move added €2.8 billion and 20 employees to Universal Investment, which has €625 billion in assets under administration.
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