We are an international and experienced team of specialist advisors, analysts and fund managers with a reputation for excellence and original thought. Each of us joined Signet because we desired a more entrepreneurial and independent environment in which to advise our clients and deliver our hard-earned skills.
Responsible for the governance, management, strategic direction, and control of Signet, our leadership team works in concert with business support functions to ensure smooth day-to-day operational management and integrity.
Stefan is a seasoned finance professional with an extensive and successful career in banking and financial advisory. He joined Signet Group from J.P. Morgan, where - as a Senior Banker - he led a Zurich based team catering to Emerging Market clients within the International Private Bank. Prior to joining J.P. Morgan in 2020, Stefan spent 10 years at UBS in various senior management and client coverage roles, having worked abroad and at UBS headquarters in Zurich. His most recent role at UBS was as Regional Vice Chairman for UHNW clients in EMEA. Throughout his banking career, Stefan worked closely with his colleagues across banking divisions, especially investment banking, to originate and lead significant cross-divisional transactions. Prior to UBS, Stefan was a managing partner of Deloitte Corporate Finance with responsibility across the CIS region. His team won accolades as a leading mid-cap M&A advisor. He joined Deloitte from KPMG Switzerland, where he was also an Equity Partner and led the M&A, valuation and private equity team and was involved in numerous landmark transactions. Stefan studied at the University of St.Gallen, a leading business administration university in Europe. He is fluent in several languages, including native German, English, Russian and French.
Robert Marquardt was the Founder of the Signet Group of Companies in the early 1990s and is today Chairman of Signet Wealth Management. Robert, as hedge fund CIO, has managed and advised on investment strategy and hedge fund / alternative investment selection globally since 1994. Through Signet’s offices in Switzerland, London and Hong Kong the group managed and advised on hedge fund selection with an asset level in excess of $3.5 billion at the peak. Prior to founding Signet, Robert was the Managing Director of Chase Private Banking in Luxembourg and a Credit Officer of Chase Manhattan Bank in the Middle East during a 12-year career at the Chase. Robert has deep knowledge of the opportunities and risks in different global economic and market environments across fixed income, equity, commodity and currency strategies through different economic cycles and holding structures.
Alan has held a variety of roles in his time at Coutts including Head of Investment Strategy, Chief Investment Officer (UK) and Head of Multi Asset Investing. Alan has over 30 years of experience in portfolio management. Prior to Coutts, he worked at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management where he specialised in asset allocation, fixed income and alternative investments. His previous experience includes senior roles in institutional fixed income portfolio management and working for a multi-strategy hedge fund. Alan advises several charities on manager selection and underlying investments and is an external adviser to multi family office. He was also previously a non-executive director of Nestlé’s UK and Swiss pension fund management companies. Alan has a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from Bristol University and is a CFA charter holder.
Asset Management
Our autonomous investment teams run a range of actively managed, thematic funds. The business is structured to allow them to focus on their portfolios while a best-in-class operational structure works on everything else.
Anatoly Fedorov is a Portfolio Manager and the Head of Equities of Signet Group. Anatoly has more than 12 years of experience of investment banking and financial markets. His primary responsibilities are portfolio management and equity research for Signet’s global, fundamental growth strategies. Anatoly manages Signet’s Global Leaders Fund (UCITS) and historically being involved in managing Long-Short Equity and Merger Arbitrage strategies. Prior to joining Signet in February 2018, he worked as a Vice President at J.P. Morgan in EMEA Diversified Industrials Practice where he was responsible for financial and valuation analysis, execution, project management and due diligence of large-scale M&A transactions, IPOs and financing deals (e.g. Wabco acquisition by ZF, Philips Lighting IPO, Befesa IPO, SGD Pharma sell-side etc.). Prior to his employment at J.P. Morgan, Anatoly was an equity research analyst at Genesis Investment Management. During his time there, he executed financial analysis, valuation and communication with corporate management for emerging markets. Anatoly graduated from New Economic School and Moscow State University with two Master of Arts degrees in Economics.
After obtaining a Master’s degree in Commercial Engineering and Applied Economics at the KU Leuven in 1998, Thierry Vanden Hende studied at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management, where he earned an MBA. He was subsequently recruited as an analyst by Morgan Stanley. He joined their real estate private equity fund in 2005 and became a Managing Director in 2013. In 2017, he left Morgan Stanley and joined MallTech, a company in which Goldman Sachs Special Situations Group held a majority stake and where he held the position of CIO.
Serge Umansky is a Managing Director of Signet FFF Capital AG. He is a specialist in absolute return strategies with 12 years of experience in numerical analysis in engineering and over 25 years of investment and risk management. From 1977, he headed the research laboratory at the Ukranian Academy of Sciences in Kiev, focusing on numerical analysis and developing numerical models and software for aerospace applications. In 1989, he was hired by the Germany-based EWCO GmbH where he led implementation and support of financial management systems for corporate clients in Central Europe. In 1991, he joined WIR Corporation in the United States where he designed and developed computerised trading models and software tools for quantitative trading strategies. From 1993, he was appointed CIO of New Capital Markets in Washington, DC where he developed investment strategies, managed multi asset funds and designed proprietary portfolio management software. He then moved into a consultancy role with ICG consulting, L.L.C. for international debt restructuring advisory, private equity investments and research. In 1999, he joined Signet Research and Advisory as CIO where he was responsible for portfolio construction and investments selection, risk management, as well as quantitative and qualitative portfolio analysis. From 2016, he co-founded a number of Signet subsidiary advisory companies, Whiteridge Advisor SA in 2016 and Metadvice Limited in 2018. In January 2020, he was appointed CEO of Signet Capital Management Limited and acts as a head of Healthcare Investments team at Signet Global.
WEALTH MANAGEMENT
Our Wealth Management Team bring the resources, insight and dedication to guide our clients through every step of their wealth management journey.
Piers has over 22 years of experience in the financial services industry, specialising in multi-asset class investment management. He has held previous roles as the CIO of Dark Star Asset Management, the Head of Discretionary Portfolio Management for Plurimi Wealth, and as a senior investment manager for Barclays Private Bank / Wealth. He is a BSc financial economics graduate from Brunel University, holds the CISI FCSI designation and is a former intelligence officer in the British Army.
David has over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry, specializing in delivering wealth management and wealth structuring advice. He has advised a variety of prominent family offices and high net worth individuals across several longstanding client relationships spanning multiple jurisdictions. David is fluent in French, Italian, German, English, and Dutch. He holds an Economics degree from ISEC/UMH Haute Ecole Commercial de la Province du Hainaut, Belgium.
Lee is a seasoned industry expert having spent 20 years with Deutsche Bank in both the UK and most recently as a Managing Director in Switzerland. He is an experienced investment professional with extensive capital markets expertise, representing UHNW clients and Family Offices over many years. Lee has been responsible for overseeing large multi and single asset class investment portfolios and involved in complex investment banking lending transactions, as well as supporting families with multi-jurisdictional offshore planning and structuring requirements. He is an Economics graduate from the University of Birmingham and is a CFA and CAIA Charterholder. He is married with 4 young children.
BUSINESS SUPPORT
The backbone of Signet, our Business Support Team challenges the status quo by anticipating coming opportunities and fuelling our collaborative spirit.
Hamish has over 20 years of experience in IT, investment operations and treasury management and is a CFA charter holder. He has managed fund launches in offshore and onshore jurisdictions and set-up and managed operations for both retail and hedge fund managers. His focus is the streamlining of operations workflows through automation and implementing efficient IT systems and processes.
Stanislav acts as Signet General Counsel.
He focuses on multi-jurisdictional complex finance and M&A real estate transactions.
Stanislav has advised external clients, working for international law firms such as Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Dentons, as well as internal clients, including heading the Legal Department of a Western-European bank’s real estate subsidiary.
Stanislav led landmark international transactions and has extensive experience in connection with strategic joint ventures and purchase of the key assets.
Stanislav graduated from the Higher School of Economics university with a degree in jurisprudence, he is a Master of Laws.