Winton Capital Management has appointed two high-profile financial figures as directors of the Winton Futures Fund in an effort to boost its connections with regulators.

Klaus Regling, formerly director general for economic and financial affairs of the European commission, and Jean-François Théodore, previously deputy chief executive of exchange group NYSE Euronext, were appointed as of January 1, 2010 as directors of the Futures Fund.

A spokesperson for Winton said the appointments had been prompted by vacancies on the company's board of directors.

"One thing we're certain of is that over the next few years regulation will remain on government agendas worldwide and it's very important to be able to get your point of view across to regulators and legislators in the EU and the US," said the spokesperson.

"We're extremely happy that they were able to join the board and we feel that their experience will be of great value to the Winton Futures Fund in years to come," he added.

Regling is currently chairman of KR Economics, an economic and financial consultancy in Brussels. He is also a member of the Issing Commission that advises German chancellor Angela Merkel on the reform of the global financial architecture. Regling was also a director general of the German finance ministry during preparation for the European single currency and was on the staff of the International Monetary Fund for more than a decade.

Théodore was chair of the managing board of European exchange group Euronext prior to its 2007 merger with NYSE Group. He was a director of Euroclear and remains a non-executive director of NYSE Euronext.

Before joining the Paris stock exchange in 1990, Théodore spent 15 years at the French economy and finance ministry.

The CTA/managed future Winton Futures Fund was down 4.6% for 2009 after recording positive returns of 21% for 2008. Assets under management (AUM) for the fund are now $4.3 billion.

Winton Capital holds total AUM of $12.6 billion.