Stockholm (HedgeNordic) – Mandatum and its asset management subsidiary appointed Juhani Lehtonen as the new Chief Investment Officer (CIO), as current CIO Ville Talasmäki assumes a similar CIO role at Finnish insurance group Sampo. Lehtonen, a member of Mandatum’s portfolio management team since 2008, served as a senior portfolio manager within Mandatum’s asset management arm, Mandatum Asset Management, since September 2021.

During his tenure at Mandatum, Lehtonen has held various roles within portfolio management, including Head of Investment Management, as well as Head of Fixed Income and Market Strategy. His responsibilities included running several fixed-income products, such as the Mandatum Nordic High Yield Total Return Fund. Before joining Mandatum Life Insurance in September 2008, Lehtonen spent six and a half years as a portfolio manager specializing in fixed-income, foreign exchange and asset allocation at Pohjola Asset Management. 

Juhani Lehtonen has been appointed Mandatum’s new CIO and member of Mandatum’s Executive Management Group, succeeding the current CIO Ville Talasmäki. Talasmäki, who led the investment team at Mandatum Asset Management as CIO for the past two years, worked as Head of Allocation at Sampo before transitioning to Mandatum’s asset management arm in September 2021.

“I’m very delighted that we have the right person in-house to fill this demanding role…”

“We thank Ville Talasmäki for his excellent work and wish him every success going forward,” comments Mandatum Group’s CEO, Petri Niemisvirta. “I’m very delighted that we have the right person in-house to fill this demanding role, which involves responsibility for both Mandatum Group’s own balance sheet and our customers’ assets.” Sampo’s CEO, Torbjörn Magnusson, shares his enthusiasm for appointing Ville Talasmäki as Sampo’s CIO: “I am delighted to be able to announce the appointment of Ville given his strong investment track record and a thorough understanding of the insurance industry.”

Mandatum, the life insurance and asset management arm of Finish insurance group Sampo, established Mandatum Asset Management as a new subsidiary back in 2021. Detached from Mandatum’s life insurance business, the new business unit focuses purely on asset management. The Finnish insurance group Sampo is currently undergoing a demerger and subsequent listing of Mandatum.