IFM Investors has appointed Paul Burraston as business development director for North America.

San Francisco-based Burraston will be responsible for developing new business opportunities for IFM - a $56bn fund manager owned by 29 Australian pension funds.

He will also oversee relationships for all asset classes including infrastructure, debt investments, listed equities and private capital.

Purraston was most recently director of asset management at Credit Suisse, where he managed West Coast institutional distribution for CSAM Alternatives.

He had been with the firm since 2004, when he first joined as vice president of investment banking, prime services.

Prior to that, he worked at Metropolitan West Securities for five years and from 1995-1999 held roles in client services management and global custody and securities lending for Citi in London.

“We welcome the addition of a seasoned veteran like Paul to oversee our work in serving our valued investment partners,” said Brian Clarke, head of global relationship group, IFM Investors. 

“With our deep base of institutional investors in the North American market, we are uniquely positioned to serve their needs across varied asset classes.