Exclusive: DeAWM hires HarbourVest exec

Claudio Siniscalco has joined Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management as a global co-head of co-investments

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Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM), part of Deutsche Bank Group, has expanded its private equity team with the appointment of a former HarbourVest Partners executive, PEI has learnt.

Claudio Siniscalco, a former principal and co-head of the London direct investment team at HarbourVest, has joined DeAWM as global co-head of co-investments, according to a source familiar with the matter.

DeAWM declined to comment.

In the newly created role, Siniscalco will be responsible for sourcing and executing co-investment opportunities for discretionary and non-discretionary private equity mandates, along with fellow co-head Francesco Rigamonti, the source said.

Siniscalco will also spearhead Deutsche Bank’s platform for private investments in wealth management. Siniscalco, who is based in London, will report to Carlo Pirzio-Biroli, global head of private equity.

At HarbourVest, Siniscalco was responsible for sourcing, executing and monitoring co-investments in private equity in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Prior to HarbourVest Partners, Siniscalco worked at Audley Capital, Investcorp and Hicks Muse in London.

In April, Siniscalco, then still at HarbourVest, spoke to PEI about the increasing appetite among LPs for co-investments. “Today there are definitely more LPs raising their hands and even demanding co-investment rights when making a fund commitment. So I think the market is paying more attention to co-investments. One of the reasons why [they] have been increasing in popularity is because certain LPs have viewed it as a way to lower fees.”

However, in order to be successful at co-investing, LPs need to take a partnership approach he said. “[At HarbourVest] we don’t believe in co-investment ‘rights’; we believe co-investment is a privilege and one that should be lived up to. You [do] that by having a dedicated team, having execution capability, and working hand-in-hand with the GP to meet their deadlines and requirements. That’s our way of earning the privilege to co-invest, and we believe GPs appreciate that approach – rather than being told that we expect to be shown things.”