Royal London Asset Management appoints Head of Private Assets

Royal London Asset Management has today announced the appointment of Mr. William Nicoll to a new role as Head of Private Assets.   

Mr. Nicoll joins Royal London Asset Management from M&G where he held the role of CIO, Private and Alternative Assets, responsible for leading an international team managing approximately £70 billion of assets. Over the course of a 19-year tenure with the business, Mr. Nicoll also held the roles of Co-Head of Alternative Credit and Head of Institutional Fixed Income.   

Mr. Nicoll begins his new role on 3 October 2023, and will report to Piers Hillier, Chief Investment Officer at Royal London Asset Management.   

The appointment forms part of a major strategic initiative for Royal London Asset Management, expanding its investment capabilities further into private markets. Having undertaken extensive research and due diligence, Royal London Asset Management believes current market and economic conditions – most notably the increase in interest rates and the normalisation of bond markets – now provide a highly supportive environment to develop this new offering and deliver attractive solutions to further aid investors in meeting their long-term goals.  

Commenting on the appointment Piers Hillier, Chief Investment Officer at Royal London Asset Management, said:   

“As part of our continuing commitment to deliver best-in-class investment solutions and services to our clients, we place significant focus on carefully assessing markets to identify where the most attractive opportunities lie and how investors can best access these. We believe that private markets have an important role to play in portfolios, with current market conditions providing a very conducive entry point for our business as we seek to expand our range of capabilities into this space.   

Will brings extensive experience and a proven track record of building and managing investment capabilities in this area, and we believe his experience will be invaluable to our clients as we embark on this exciting new initiative.”   

Will Nicoll added:  

“This is an exciting time to join Royal London Asset Management, which already has such a strong investment capability and excellent long-term performance. We are seeing tremendous growth in private markets and I am thrilled to be leading the buildup of Royal London Asset Management’s private assets business. Private markets, with their flexibility and innovation, are going to be a central part of market developments allowing us to transition to a more sustainable future. I am eager to get started and to build a strong private asset offering solutions for our clients which will work for them for decades to come.”