RankiaPro Europe Awards 2026: vote for the best Fund Selector
6 MAY, 2026
By Joanna Piwko from RankiaPro Europe
The sixth edition of the RankiaPro Europe Awards is here. In the weeks ahead, we’ll be highlighting the professionals who are shaping today’s financial landscape across four categories: Fund Selector of the Year, Fund Manager of the Year, Sales Manager of the Year, and Advisor of the Year.
We start with the nominees for the first category: Fund Selector of the Year.
Meet this year’s nominees:
Paul Weber (Amundi)
Paul Weber is the Head of Fund Research & Manager Selection.
Paul Weber joined the Long Only Fund Research team at Pioneer Investments in 2004. He was appointed to head this team in 2012. Following the acquisition of Pioneer Investments by Amundi in 2017, Paul was appointed Head of Fund Research and Manager Selection at Amundi. This team oversees external delegated investment managers, recommended mutual funds and ETFs for discretionary retail and institutional clients of Amundi. The acquisition of Lyxor in 2022, saw the extension of the team remit to Hedge Funds.
Between 2013 and 2018, Paul was Portfolio Manager for a range of multi-asset fund of funds for retail clients in both Europe and the United States. Paul previously worked in the Portfolio Analytics team at Pioneer Investments, specializing in the area of Global Investment Performance Standards. Before joining Pioneer Investments in 2002 Paul worked as a Portfolio Analyst for Govett Investments in London.
Paul has an MA and a BSc in Management from Trinity College, Dublin.
Louis Abreu (Dorval AM)
Louis has over 30 years of experience in Asset Management, with a diverse background that spans both operational and investment roles. He began his career in finance as Head of UCITS Accounting at OBC Bank. Two years later, he transitioned to the diversified management team at OBC Gestion (ABN Amro Group). In 2000, he founded the Risk Analysis and Performance department, where he focused on portfolio optimization for collective investment schemes.
He then joined Banque Neuflize OBC, where he was responsible for fund selection and financial product analysis. In 2007, Louis took on the role of Head of Diversified Management at Montpensier Finance, where he broadened his expertise by managing a range of diversified and flexible funds.
In 2018, he joined Dorval AM as Director of Private Banking Multimanagement. In this role, he is responsible for selecting top-performing fund managers, identifying emerging talent, and providing asset allocation and investment recommendations to the private banking team.
Eduardo Monteiro (BPI Gestão de Ativos)
Eduardo Monteiro serves as an executive member of the BPI Gestão de Ativos directors committee. His primary responsibility lies within the Wealth Division at BPI Gestão de Ativos, overseeing portfolios close to 4 billion euros. With over two decades of experience at BPI, Eduardo has consistently contributed to the organization’s success through his expertise in asset allocation.
His key responsibilities include designing and implementing Asset Allocation Models to optimize portfolio efficiency and select the best vehicles to execute the strategy. Eduardo is also deeply involved in leveraging Data Science tools to enhance asset allocation strategies.
Eduardo holds a master’s degree in economics and has completed a postgraduate program in Finance at the Faculdade de Economia do Porto. Recently, he achieved the CESGA certification, a prestigious professional qualification offered by EFFAS. Eduardo’s skill set includes proficiency in Python, VBA, and various data analysis and visualization tools. He applies these skills to develop Machine Learning algorithms within the wealth division team, driving data-driven insights and strategic decision-making.
Barbara Katzdobler (Wiener Stadtwerke GmbH)
Barbara has built a profound career in the financial industry, beginning in private banking and later moving into portfolio management, where early exposure to manager selection sparked a lasting interest in fund analysis and portfolio construction. Over the years, she has developed a broad skillset in evaluating funds. Drawing on experience and guided by strong mentors, Barbara combines analytical rigor with persistence, curiosity, and long-term vision.
In her current role, she is Senior Treasury and Portfolio Manager at Wiener Stadtwerke, one of the largest infrastructure and utility companies in Austria, headquartered in Vienna. Prior to this position, she worked as a fund manager at an investment boutique, focusing on fund-of-fund management, manager selection, and the administration of discretionary mandates.
Barbara completed the program to become a certified stock trader and holds the designations of Certified Portfolio Manager (CPM) and Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA). She earned a Master of Science degree in Business Administration and is currently pursuing an MBA degree in Sustainable Leaderhip as well as doctoral studies in Innovation & Creativity Management.
Christophe Jaubert (Mediolanum International Funds)
Christophe Jaubert launched his career more than three decades ago at a boutique asset management firm in Paris, where his primary focus was the selection of hedge funds and long-only managers. From the outset, analysing and choosing managers has been a core responsibility, remaining central even as he transitioned into managing portfolios in 1999. Over time, the firm’s assets under management (AUM) grew past $5 billion, and in 2002 he became Chief Investment Officer (CIO). The organisation was acquired by Rothschild in 2012, where he continued to oversee these responsibilities.
In 2018, he embraced a new chapter by joining Mediolanum in Ireland as CIO. Mediolanum International Funds, an Irish-listed asset management company, forms part of the Italian Mediolanum Banking Group. Over the last seven years, the investment team has doubled in size from 35 to 70 professionals, now managing €70 billion on behalf of clients. About a third of the assets are managed internally, while the remaining two-thirds are entrusted to external managers, rigorously selected by the dedicated manager selection team. Recently, the firm established the Mediolanum Investment Academy to attract and nurture young talents who will shape the next generation of investment leaders.
César Daguet (The Forum Finance Group)
César Daguet began his career in 2018 as a Portfolio Manager at Forum Finance Group. In 2020, he obtained the CIIA certification, achieving the highest score in Switzerland among that year’s candidates. In 2021, he was promoted to Lead Portfolio Manager of a fund of funds and now oversees the firm’s fund selection activities. He holds a master’s in mechanical engineering from EPFL.
Diogo Verde (Millennium bcp)
Diogo Verde holds a degree in Economics from University do Minho and a Master’s in Management from Universidade Católica Portuguesa. I am grateful to Golden Wealth Management for the opportunity to begin my career in the financial sector – first as an investment analyst and later as a fund selector, he emphasizes. His path eventually led him to Lisbon, where he joined the analysis team of FundsPeople. More recently, he was invited to join the fund selection team of Millennium bcp, an opportunity he was very pleased to accept. Diogo is currently part of that team, where he is responsible for selecting and monitor all fixed income vehicles included in the bank’s current offer.
Kevin Disdero (Société Générale Investment Solutions Europe)
Kevin Disdero is a portfolio manager at Société Générale Investment Solutions Europe, where he manages multi-assets portfolios. With more than a decade of experience in asset management, he is responsible for building robust investment strategies and delivering sustainable value for a sophisticated and demanding clientele.
Kevin is a CFA Charterholder, CAIA Charterholder, holds the Sustainable Investing certificate from the CFA Institute and a MSc in Finance from INSEEC Paris.
Ludovic Cauchie (Privalux Management)
Ludovic Cauchie is a wealth manager at Privalux Management, an independent asset manager, with over ten years of experience in financial markets. He studied Economics and Finance at Sorbonne University (Paris 1) and holds an MBA from ESLSCA Business School. He is a CFA charterholder and specializes primarily in fixed income, fund selection, and portfolio construction. He also manages a convertible bond fund and works across a broad range of investment strategies, including systematic approaches. His focus is on identifying differentiated solutions that perform consistently across varying market environments.
François Gazier (Haussmann Patrimoine)
Graduate of Paris-Saclay university with a Bachelor in business and marketing, François worked during two decades for Robeco France, initially as a financial advisor for individual investors, then as head of client relationships and then (during the second decade) as head of product offering and fund selection.
In 2012, he joined Haussmann Patrimoine, an independent wealth management office founded in 2004 by his former colleague Emmanuel Narrat, as a financial advisor and head of asset allocation and fund selection.
Jean-Gabriel Nicolay (Candriam)
Jean-Gabriel Nicolay has been co-head of external multi-management at Candriam since 2007. Joining Candriam as a senior portfolio manager at Candriam in 1998, he became a senior external alternative multi-management portfolio manager in 2004. He began his career as a fixed income trader at Bank of America Capital Markets, eventually becoming the company’s head of fixed income proprietary trading.
Jean-Gabriel holds an engineering degree from the École Nationale Supérieure des Techniques Avancées in Paris.
Edoardo Cozzani (ING)
After finishing studies and completing an internship at Intesa San Paolo, Edoardo Cozzani started in January 2018 as a Sales Trainee in Personal Banking – ING is effectively his first employment. During this time, he gained extensive knowledge of the various functions within a branch. After 15 months, he had the opportunity to join the Product Management team, where he became responsible for communication around funds while also learning about the selection processes.
In 2021, the activities linked to funds – and Edoardo – were moved to what is now the Global Investment Centre of ING Group, supporting multiple countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Spain).
Since then, Edoardo has specialized in fund selection activities: identifying the best funds for ING Flagship funds and satellite offerings, monitoring performance, managing relationships with preferred partners, and developing new offering structures. He continues to be actively involved in content creation related to these activities and projects.
