Wells Fargo Investment Institute (WFII) appointed Audrey Kaplan head of global equity strategy, based in New York.

Kaplan will establish investment strategy for global equities for WFII. The equity strategy she sets will be used by the investment professionals working on behalf of individual and institutional clients with $1.9 trillion in assets under management through Wells Fargo Wealth and Investment business units. She also will establish the equity strategy methodology, drive investment thought leadership and communicate equity strategy to internal leaders, investment professionals and clients.

“The addition of Audrey Kaplan significantly fortifies our ability to continue to deliver the highest quality investment expertise to help our clients succeed financially,” said Darrell Cronk, president of WFII and chief investment officer of Wealth and Investment.

Kaplan joins Wells Fargo with more than 25 years of global investment industry experience focused on equity research, quantitative analysis and portfolio strategy in global and domestic markets.

She most recently led the international equities portfolio management and research team at Federated Investors. Prior to that, Kaplan led Rochdale Investment Management’s quantitative research group. She also performed hedge fund strategy consulting with BlueCrest Capital Management, European quantitative strategy for Merrill Lynch, global emerging markets research with Robert Fleming and equity, fixed income and derivatives analysis with Salomon Brothers.

“Audrey’s breadth of industry expertise — rooted in her investment leadership roles in European and Asian markets — make her uniquely qualified to enhance and galvanize our global equities capabilities,” said Paul Christopher, WFII head of global market strategy.