BNP Paribas Asset Management strengthens Quant Research Group with hire of three senior analysts

Boris Afanasiev, Benoît Bellone and Frédéric Abergel have joined the QRG Research Lab and report to Thomas Heckel and François Soupé, Co-Heads of QRG. Boris is based in London, and Benoît and Frédéric are based in Paris.

Alongside the QRG Research Lab’s other quantitative analysts and data scientists, Boris, Benoît and Frédéric will work across all asset classes, undertaking strategic research and using their connections within the academic world where appropriate.

The QRG forms part of BNPP AM’s Products & Strategic Marketing division, led by Pierre Moulin. It was established in 2007 in order to centralise BNPP AM’s quantitative research capabilities and now consists of around 30 experts in quantitative investment. The centralisation of resources has enabled BNPP AM to expand its expertise to cover new datasets and develop innovative advanced quantitative approaches.

The latest appointments represent a significant development in BNPP AM’s quantitative ambitions, including augmenting its fundamental investment processes with quantitative inputs, developing new proprietary ‘quantamental’ portfolio construction techniques and ensuring the continued competitiveness of its factor investing approach through innovative enhancements.

Pierre Moulin, Global Head of Products & Strategic Marketing at BNP Paribas Asset Management, comments: “The creation of a stronger, more collaborative and more efficient quantitative research platform will enable us to remain at the forefront of quantitative research, and the addition of such highly experienced analysts as Boris, Benoît and Frédéric to the team will be instrumental in helping us to achieve our ambitions. I am very pleased to welcome them to BNP Paribas Asset Management.”

Boris Afanasiev has considerable expertise in researching systematic futures markets trading. He joined from StatQuant Consulting, where he was Managing Director, having previously been CIO and Founding Partner of Asset Algo Advisory. Prior to this he was a senior quantitative researcher at AQR Capital Management and Head of Commodities research at Winton Capital Management. Boris has a Master degree in Mathematics & Statistics and a PhD in Theory of Probability & Mathematical Statistics, both from Moscow State University, and an MBA from Henley Business School.

Benoît Bellone joined from HSBC Global Asset Management where he was Head of Equity and Multi-Asset Research, designing and managing multi-asset factor and global macro absolute return strategies. Previously he was an economist at the OECD and the French Ministry of Finance. Benoît is a graduate from the Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) Paris-Saclay. He holds a Master degree in Economics & Statistics from ENSAE ParisTech and a Master degree in Mathematics from Université Paris IX – Dauphine.

Frédéric Abergel joined from CentraleSupélec, where he was Director of the Chair of Quantitative Finance, researching electronic markets and high frequency finance for 11 years. Prior to this he spent a further 11 years in quantitative research roles in investment banking, at Natixis, Barclays Capital, CAI Cheuvreux and BNP Paribas, following another decade in academia. Frédéric is a graduate of the Ecole Normale Supérieure and has a PhD in Mathematics from Université Paris Sud-Orsay (Paris-XI).