The London-based asset management boutique Polar Capital has announced the appointment of Sandy Black as chief investment officer. His role will include overseeing an independent review of investment teams at Polar Capital, andparticipatingin the growth of the firm through the identification and selection of new investment strategies. Black had previously been chief investment officer at J O Hambro Capital Management, where he worked with Gavin Rochussen, who has been the CEO of Polar Capital since 2016. In its quarterly newsletter about group strategy, Polar Capital has also announced the forthcoming launch of two new UCITS funds: the Asian Stars fund, managed by Jorry Noddekaer ans his team, and the Global Absolute Return fund, managed by David Keetley, with the assistance of his team. Assets at Polar Capital as of 31 December 2018 totalled GBP12.65bn, compared with GBP11.98bn as of the end of March. Long-only funds represented GBP11.34bn in assets under management, and alternative funds accounted for GBP1.31bn. In the nine months from March to December 2018, Polar Capital posted net inflows of GBP646m (GBP524m in long-only funds, and GBP122m for alternative funds). The London-based firm has announced that it was not spared from the market correction in the last quarter of 2018. In fourth quarter 2018, Polar Capital saw outflows of GBP286m, and a decline in assets under management of GBP1.77bn, due to market movements and negative performance.