Italian subadvisor MDOTM appoints CIO to enhance investment model development

MDOTM, the Italian subadvisor that develops AI-driven strategies and quantitative models for institutional investors, has appointed Simone Facchinato as its new Chief Investment Officer (CIO) in a bid to enhance expertise in developing quantitative investment solutions.

With over 20 years' track record in the finance and asset management industry, Facchinato has worked for several top-tier financial institutions. His most recent role was that of head of Multi Asset at ANIMA SGR, in charge of overseeing € 30bn in assets. Prior to that, he was Chief Investment Officer at Amundi in Italy and head of Institutional Business Development at Arca SGR.

MDOTM said that Facchinato had acquired during his career a broad expertise in many key areas of the asset management industry, and a deep knowledge of quantitative investment strategies and institutional investors' needs and requirements.

He said: "Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning mark a decade-long transition in the Asset Management industry. From traditional statistical techniques to new complex models for decision-making, they will be fundamental in establishing a competitive advantage in the future. MDOTM's approach and methodology follow this direction.

"The team's enthusiasm is contagious, and I am looking forward to give my contribution to develop new investment strategies that can address the increasing complexity of financial markets."

Federico Mazzorin MDOTM's CTO, Co-CIO & Co-Founder added: "In the last few years, Artificial Intelligence has made a giant leap forward, and to constantly add value there is a need for continuous investment in financial and computational research. In this sense, Simone's skills and deep expertise will be fundamental to develop better and more efficient investment models."

In October last year, MDOTM announced it had raised €2m from the closure of its first funding round from a combination of institutional and private investors to finance its international scale-up.

The company opened its London office in 2015, which was followed by the discovery of its first client, an institutional investor based in London with offices in Switzerland, who wanted to try the company's model and fed it with €1m.   

During a trip to London last year, Migliore told InvestmentEurope: "During those two years, we started getting some revenues and at the end of 2017, we were selected by Google to join their Google for Entrepreneurs programme, a worldwide acceleration scheme for start-ups."

Migliore also revealed that Spain, Germany and the US were some of the countries the company was eyeing with greater interest.

MDOTM's team is made up of around twenty people, who are scattered across London, Milan, and Zurich. Reflecting the firm's approach - which is rooted in science - the team is primarily composed of researchers and analysts with backgrounds ranging from finance and statistics, to computer science and structure of matter physics.