Managers

BERNARDINO BRANCA (Fund of Hedge Fund strategies)
Bernardino Branca is pioneer in the European hedge fund business, and director of the Branca family office (Fernet Branca). Mr. Branca oversees Aquila’s umbrella hedge fund operations, with a successful track record in umbrella hedge fund management going back to the mid-90s.

HAROLD HEUSCHMIDT  (AC Statistical Value Market Neutral Fund - SVMN)
Harold Heuschmidt is the head manager of the SVMN fund series. With over 20 years of experience in the financial markets, Mr. Heuschmidt of the Aquila Capital Alphagroup has been responsible for strategy development and implementation since inception in 2004. He holds an MBA (cum laude) from INSEAD business school in Fontainebleau, France. Previously Mr. Heuschmidt was with American Express in London and Frankfurt, Morgan Stanley Equity Derivatives in New York and London and Credit Suisse First Boston Equity Derivatives in London.

MARKUS HÜWENER (CEO First Climate | Aquila KlimaschutzINVEST series)
Markus Hüwener is co-founder of 3C and CEO of First Climate (created through the merger of 3C and Factor), where he is in charge of fund management and trading. Mr. Hüwener designed the world’s first climate protection investment fund open to retail investors. Before founding 3C he was Managing Director at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein (DrKW) in Frankfurt, where he initiated trading in emissions credits in 2003.

ANDREAS ISKE (AC Pharos-Strategy, AC Vol Opportunity)
Team Head for Managed Futures Strategies in the Aquila Capital Alphagroup since March 2006. With over 15 years of experience in the capital markets, Mr. Iske has been responsible for the Pharos strategy since inception in 2001. Formerly he was with Dresdner Kleinwort Benson as quantitative analyst and Conservative Concept as portfolio manager. Academic background completed banking apprenticeship with Georg Hauck & Sohn, studied economics in Frankfurt/Main.

DR. DIETER RENTSCH (founding Partner, CIO | Quantitative Models, Triple Alpha Strategy)
Shareholding director of Aquila Capital responsible for quantitative trading systems for fund management. He is former head of Macroeconomic Research at MEAG, having over 15 years of experience in the investment business.

OTTO REVENTLOW (Managing Director International Woodland Company (IWC) | Aquila WaldINVEST series, Aquila Institutional Global Timber Fund)
Since founding in 1991, Otto Reventlow has been a shareholder and Managing Director of the Denmark company International Woodland Company A/S of Frederiksberg/Copenhagen. Previously Mr. Reventlow worked for the Danish Woodland Owners Association where his responsibilities included pricing and valuation of timberland. With a documented 20-year track record of achievement, today he sits on the supervisory boards of the Lounkjaer Foundation, the World Forestry Center and Skovinvest. He also consults for several large Danish timberland owners. In 1988 he received a master’s degree in Sustainable Forestry and Land Use Management (M.Sc.) from the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University of Copenhagen.

MARCUS ROST (Multi Asset Class Management)
Marcus Rost is head of Multi Asset Class Management, a unit that implements the investing style successfully employed by university endowment funds. Mr. Rost employs this investment strategy with open-end mutual funds and managed accounts. Formerly he was in equity trading at the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, asset management for an independent wealth manager in New York and discretionary equity and derivates trading for a major bank.

DETLEF SCHÖN (Climate and Agriculture)
Managing Director of KlimaINVEST and Aquila Capital Green Assets, responsible for portfolio management. Mr. Schön began his career with Cargill after completing a degree in agronomics. Having held a range of positions at the firm, including at its European headquarters, before long he was made Managing Director of the European Commodities Merchandizing Division. He also ran his own successful business for a time before returning to global agribusiness as Manager of International Grains for NIDERA in Rotterdam.

BHARAT SHAH (CEO & Managing Partner ASK Investment Managers Private Limited | AC Indien Inside)
Bharat Shah has been majority shareholder and CEO of ASK Investment Managers Private Limited (ASKIM) in Bombay since December 2002, overseeing the growth and success of the firm. Mr. Shah (C.A., C.W.A., MBA (IIM Cal)) has over 18 years of experience in finance, 13 of which in the capital markets. Before joining ASKIM he was CIO of Birma Sun Life AMC Ltd. in Bombay for eight years. Mr. Shah has extensive experience with India’s capital markets, about which he is extremely knowledgeable.

MATTHIAS WERNER (AC Falcon Real Asset)
Mr. Werner, who holds a Magister degree in Economics and Political Science, began his career in Research at Dresdner Bank, where he rapidly advanced to become Managing Director and Co-Director of Proprietary Trading. He later joined Credit Suisse in Frankfurt as Managing Director and Head of Proprietary Trading. One of the Credit Suisse Group’s most successful traders, and investors, he was a pioneer in climate change investment opportunities.