Etienne Rougier has been approved by Luxembourg’s Financial Sector Supervisory Commission (CSSF) to take the helm as country head of Universal Investment Group’s Luxembourg office, the company on 9 October 2023.
Currently the chief operating officer of Universal Investment Group, Rougier takes over from Sofia Harrschar, who had been leading the Luxembourg operations since 2021. Harrschar will now focus her efforts on the company’s alternative investments and structuring division.
According to Universal Investment, the Luxembourg subsidiary has been instrumental in its overall growth and its status as a premier European fund service platform and super manco. Driven by robust client demand and the November 2022 acquisition of European Fund Administration, the Luxembourg office has seen considerable expansion in recent years. It currently employs over 500 individuals and manages assets totalling €294bn.
Rougier commenced his professional journey at Axa Investment Managers, spearheading key corporate reorganisation initiatives, including the outsourcing of Axa IM operations across Europe. In 2005, he became global head of change management at Axa and later relocated to London to found Architas, an Axa Group multi-manager boutique, where he served as COO for five years. Prior to joining Universal Investment, he worked at Alliance Bernstein from 2013, fulfilling various managerial roles, notably as the head of EMEA and Asia insurance.
Rougier assumed his role as COO of Universal Investment Group in April 2023. Based in Luxembourg, he has been overseeing technology, operations and change management at a group level, steering the company’s transformation in line with its comprehensive growth strategy, with particular emphasis on the Luxembourg fund hub.
David Blumer, executive chairman of Universal Investment, expressed that Rougier’s extensive experience spanning over two decades in the asset management sector would be invaluable for the ongoing development of the Luxembourg office.
One of the key tasks on Rougier’s agenda will be the integration of EFA, which was acquired by Universal Investment last year. Overall, Universal Investment Group manages around €979bn in assets, maintains approximately 2,000 fund and investment mandates, and employs a global workforce exceeding 1,700.