Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Finnish asset manager Aktia has hired Karri Mäkitalo to be responsible for alternative investment management and manager selection. Mäkitalo is rejoining the alternative investments industry after a career detour at Espoo-based fintech Zapflow.

“I’m enthusiastic to share that I’m starting a new position taking care of Alternative Investments at Aktia,” Karri Mäkitalo writes on LinkedIn. “Thank you Uki Lammi, Perttu Purhonen and Mikko Ayub for taking me onboard to a great team,” he adds. “Looking forward to catch up with old friends and make new ones as we continue building the business.”

“I’m enthusiastic to share that I’m starting a new position taking care of Alternative Investments at Aktia.”

Mäkitalo joins Aktia from Zapflow, a fintech that provides a deal flow power tool for venture capital and private equity teams, as well as other investment professionals. He also worked as an investment manager focused on active asset allocation with an absolute return target at Suomi Mutual for eight years and a half before joining KJK Capital Oy as business development director in October 2016. At KJK Capital, Mäkitalo focused on business development, new products and projects from an alternative asset perspective. Between 1999 and 2008, he worked as a portfolio manager at Finnish pension fund Keva.

The hiring of Karri Mäkitalo is part of Aktia’s increasing focus on alternative investments. In May of last year, Taaleri, a Nordic investment and asset manager with an emphasis on renewable energy and other alternative investments, completed the sale of its wealth management operations to Aktia. As part of the transaction, Aktia and Taaleri agreed to cooperate in the development, distribution, sale and marketing of new alternative investment products.