Investec hires a former IMF director

Investec Asset Management has bolstered the expertise on its fixed income and multi-asset team with the appointment of a former director of the IMF Institute.

South African-born economist Leslie Lipschitz is set to join the company in Cape Town as a visiting strategist working on the firm’s thematic and macroeconomic views.

Having joined the IMF in 1974, Lipschitz held three senior positions at the IMF. During his tenure, he headed up the Asian and Pacific, African and European area departments.

At the core of his work, Lipschitz was involved in the IMF’s surveillance work on major industrial countries, leading programme negotiations for both developed and emerging countries. He also worked in the IMF Policy Development and Review Department.

Commenting on the appointment, Hendrik Du Toit, CEO of Investec, said: ‘We are confident that the insights he gained from many years of engaging with policy makers around the world, some of whom represented countries in crisis, will add significant benefit to our clients’ portfolios.’