Robeco appoints Mike Chen as Head of Alternative Alpha Research
Rotterdam, 17 March 2022 – Robeco further strengthens its Quant Equity Research team with the appointment of Mr. Mike Chen as Head of Alternative Alpha Research. In this newly-created role, Mr. Chen will lead the research and development of innovative alpha insights and next-generation (Next-Gen) investment strategies.
Mr. Chen joins Robeco from PanAgora, where he was Head of Sustainable Investments. In addition, he was responsible for model research and development in the equity division while participating in daily management of quant portfolios. Prior to joining PanAgora, Mr. Chen was a Quant Portfolio Manager at BlackRock’s Scientific Active Equity (SAE) team, where his responsibilities included portfolio management and research into alpha insights for use across the entire SAE platform. He started his career at Morgan Stanley in New York after graduating from the University of Illinois with a PhD in Electrical and Computer Engineering in 2005. Mr. Chen is based in Robeco’s New York office, will spend a significant amount of time in Rotterdam, and reports to Weili Zhou, Head of Robeco’s Quant Equity Research team.
This appointment follows Robeco’s recent appointment of Harald Lohre as Executive Director of Quant Equity Research.
Weili Zhou, Head of Quant Equity Research: “We’re delighted to welcome such a well-known quant like Mike to our team. His extensive experience and track record in areas like machine learning, alternative data and sustainable investing will undoubtedly accelerate our progress on Next-Gen investment strategies, one of the strategic focuses of our Quant Equity business over the coming years. I’m confident that with the expansion of our research team and Mike’s arrival, we can provide our clients with even more innovative solutions and further strengthen our thought leadership in the new research areas.”
Mike Chen: “I’m humbled and honored to be joining Robeco’s world-renowned investment team, and I look forward to working with talented colleagues across the firm. With its decades of experience and deep knowledge in quantitative and sustainable investing, Robeco is and will continue to be perfectly positioned to take on a leading role in an investment world where sophisticated quantitative techniques, novel data and sustainability are ever more central to our client’s investment objectives.”