Aaro Capital

Aaro Capital appoints Stuart MacDonald as Chairman, adds Peter Rigg as Head of Investment Research and Olga Romanova as Head of ODD 

London, 23 June 2022 – Aaro Capital, the DLT and cryptoassets investment specialist, today announces the appointment of three senior hires to its London office. Stuart Macdonald is joining Aaro Capital’s London-based team as Chairman alongside Peter Rigg, who joins as Head of Investment Research, and Olga Romanova, who will serve as the firm’s Head of Operational Due Diligence.  

As Chairman, Stuart is working to set the strategic direction of the firm, as well as focus on capital raising, brand building and product development. He is working closely with Aaro Capital’s CEO Peter Habermacher and CIO Ankush Jain to deliver on Aaro Capital’s aim of opening up the exciting and rapidly evolving DLT and cryptoassets growth story to sophisticated investors.  

Stuart brings a wealth of industry experience with over 30 years across top-tier  global  investment companies. He has deep expertise in capital raising and commercialisation across alternative investment management and bankable  technologies,  latterly  as  Managing  Partner  at  Bride  Valley Partners. He previously worked as Director of Hedge Funds at Henderson Global Investors, Managing Director at Aquila Capital, and Head of Marketing at West Merchant Bank. His industry awards include one for Best Investor Relations and two for Outstanding Industry Contribution. He frequently Chairs leading Alternative Investment Conferences including GAIM and the Quant Conference. Stuart also presents the award-winning alternative investment radio show, the Naked Short Club and has been a Visiting Lecturer at London University. 

Peter  Rigg, who joins as Head of Investment Research, is responsible for sourcing DLT and cryptoassets funds, conducting IDD reviews on new investment managers, as well as monitoring and reviewing existing manager portfolio. Reporting to CIO Ankush Jain, Peter is working closely with the underlying funds to identify the best and most sustainable sources of outperformance amongst DLT and cryptoassets funds. 

Peter has 25 years of experience in alternative investments, having spent 21 years at HSBC, the last eight of which as the Head and CEO of HSBC Alternative Investment Group. In this position, he was responsible for HSBC’s 100-person alternative investment team managing over $30bn of institutional and high net worth capital around the world. Prior to heading up the business, Peter was Global Head of Hedge Fund Research from 2004 to 2007, based in New York. From 1999 to 2004, Peter was portfolio manager of HSBC’s fund of hedge fund range. He also currently serves as Partner and Board Member at Crossbow Partners AG, a Swiss investment advisory firm.  

Olga Romanova, in her capacity as Head of Operational Due Diligence, is undertaking ODD reviews on new investment managers, as well as monitoring the existing portfolio of investment managers. She is also responsible for managing and enhancing the operations of underlying DLT and cryptoassets funds.  

Olga brings 25 years of experience in due diligence and audit, specialising in hedge funds. She was most recently the Head of ODD at International Asset Management Limited in London for five years. Prior to that, Olga was part of the ODD teams at AXA Investment Managers and GAM, focusing on hedge funds and alternative credit vehicles. Olga started her career with Ernst & Young as an auditor and is a CFA Charterholder, as well as an American CPA.  

Peter Habermacher, CEO and Co-founder at Aaro Capital, said: “I am delighted to welcome Stuart, Peter and Olga to the team. Their deep sector knowledge and experience within the hedge fund industry, combined with Aaro Capital’s rigorous due diligence and ongoing monitoring of active fund managers, provides a unique combination of multi-asset investment and fund selection capability and brings a rare level of professionalism and rigour to the DLT and cryptoassets investment space.” 

Commenting on the appointment, Stuart MacDonald, Chairman at Aaro Capital, said: “Aaro Capital is one of the first truly institutional investment specialists in the fast-evolving DLT and cryptoassets space. I am delighted to join the amazing team that brings together younger investors with direct experience of crypto investments and senior hedge fund industry practitioners. I look forward to working with colleagues and partners to help Aaro Capital deliver on its aim of opening up this exciting new asset class for institutional and other sophisticated investors as the market matures and becomes increasingly active.” 
 

About Aaro Capital 

Aaro Capital was established in 2018 as one of the first investment specialists focused on Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) and cryptoassets. Aaro opens up the exciting and rapidly evolving DLT and cryptoasset growth story for sophisticated investors. 

Aaro Capital’s London-based team combines younger investors, such as CEO Peter Habermacher and CIO Ankush Jain, both with direct experience of crypto investments, with senior hedge fund industry practitioners, such as Aaro’s Head of Investment Research Peter Rigg (former Global Head of HSBC Alternative Investment Group), Head of Operational Due Diligence Olga Romanova (former Head of Operational Due Diligence at International Asset Management) and Chairman Stuart Macdonald (Managing Partner at Bride Valley Partners). They are supported by an Advisory Committee including Eric Bissonnier (former CIO at LumX), Tushar Patel (CIO at HFIM) and Mattia Rattaggi (former Head of Regulatory Affairs and Governance Reporting at UBS). 

www.aaro.capital 
 
Press Inquiries 

Danila Andreev 
Email: danila.andreev@peregrinecommunications.com 
Telephone: +44 (0) 7388 204845 

Disclaimer: 

Aaro Capital is the trading name of Aaro Capital Limited (“Aaro”), a private limited company, registered in England and Wales with number 11419585, whose registered office is at 5th Floor 14-16 Dowgate Hill, London, United Kingdom, EC4R 2SU. Cryptoassets are at a developmental stage with variation in its  regulation  across  different  jurisdictions.  Anyone  considering  investing  into  these  types  of  assets should be cautious and take appropriate advice in relation to the risks associated with these assets including  (without  limitation)  volatility,  total  capital  loss,  and  lack  of  regulation  over  certain  market participants. Before making any investments decisions reference should be made to the prospectus / information document of these types of assets. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results. This marketing communication is being provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice and is not an offer or solicitation for investment.