Bio
Habib is a co-founder and the Chief Investment Officer of V-Square Quantitative Management, a global asset management firm with sustainability (ESG) at its core, created in partnership with Valor Equity Partners. He is a twenty-two plus year investment management veteran having worked for global financial services companies in Europe and the U.S.
Habib transformed funds’ infrastructure and drove profitable growth by developing scalable and cost-efficient platforms. A champion of innovation, Habib combines a science academic background with an extensive experience in investment management and international regulatory frameworks. He successfully led numerous strategic initiatives that resulted in solutions and products for investors across the globe, under a robust governance framework; many of those focused on environmental, social, and corporate governance matters. Habib oversaw over $20 billion across core asset classes, while closely working with Trust boards to improve the governance framework.
Habib specializes in quantitative strategies, in both active management and strategic beta indexation. Having gained major recognition as an expert in portfolio management of developed and emerging markets, he also possesses a wealth of knowledge of the capital markets, their regulatory and operational frameworks. He received a 4-star and 5-star overall Morningstar rating in 2014 and 2015 for EGShares Emerging Markets Consumer ETF (ECON, renamed Columbia Emerging Markets Consumer ETF).
Prior to V-Square, Habib held various senior leadership roles in investment and business development at HSBC Global Asset Management, Columbia Threadneedle Investments, J.P. Morgan, and more recently Vident Investment Advisory. Furthermore, he was an Adjunct Professor at New York University SPS Finance and Law program from 2012 to 2018, and regularly works with and lectures at the University of Chicago MS Program in Financial Mathematics (FinMath).
Habib is a member of the Advisory Board of The Journal of Impact & ESG Investing, part of the Portfolio Management Research family that contains titles including The Journal of Portfolio Management, The Journal of Investing, and The Journal of Fixed Income. He serves on the boards of the French American Chamber of Commerce Chicago (FACC), Urban Initiatives, and is also involved in several initiatives to guide entrepreneurs, professionals, and students in the US, Europe, and Africa. Habib is a founding member of Lab Indigo, the first Startup Studio dedicated to Conscious Tech.
Habib regularly publishes thought leadership pieces and is often featured as a speaker in conferences addressing the various challenges of the financial industry, the emerging/growing macro trends, and discussing practical approaches for companies to effectively adapt to both the climate and the societal transitions.
Habib is a Certified Investment Fund Director (CIFD) by the CIFD Institute and is National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) Directorship Certified™. He holds the Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation, certified by the Global Association of Risk Professionals. Habib received a BS in Physics from the Faculty of Sciences and Medical Studies of the Sorbonne University Group in Paris, France. He also holds an MS in Statistics and Data Science, Applied Mathematics and Economics from the French National School of Statistics and Information Analysis, ENSAI, and an MS in Quantitative Finance from the University of Rennes, France.