Citywire Wealth Manager Top 100 star Alena Kosava has joined AJ Bell as head of investment research. Kosava replaces Ryan Hughes, who has been promoted to head of investment partnerships, where he will focus on the company's managed portfolio service (MPS) for advised clients. She joins after a 14-month stint with Ascot Lloyd's fund management division, Avellemy, where she worked as head of collectives.

She left the business shortly after private equity house Nordic Capital signed a deal to acquire Ascot Lloyd. Before that, she worked as a director of equity and alternative strategies for Tilney Smith & Williamson (now Evelyn Partners). Kosava will analyse AJ Bell's core investment solutions across the business, including its MPS, its funds and the favourite funds list.

She regularly features in Wealth Manager's Top 100 study into the most influential people in UK fund selection, including the most recent 2021 edition. Hughes (pictured) joined AJ Bell in 2016 as head of investment research, spearheading the launch of its MPS service in the same year.