Weekly roundup of people news, Aug 29
Quebec’s La Caisse to open Singapore office
Canadian institutional fund house La Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec has said it will open an office in Singapore by the end of the year.
The operation will be headed by Édouard Merette, who will join the $215 billion pension plan manager on October 1 in the newly created position of Asia-Pacific managing director.
His responsibilities will include developing and monitoring La Caisse's investments in Asia. He will also oversee La Caisse’s team in Beijing and eventually Mumbai, where it plans to open an office.
Merette joins from consultant Aon Hewitt, where he was chief executive for Asia-Pacific. Stewart Fotheringham replaced Merette when the latter left in January. Fotheringham was previously CEO for the Pacific.
La Caisse’s move into Asia comes following the arrival in Asia of other big Canadian pension groups in recent years, including Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
ChinaAMC head steps down
The chief executive of mainland fund house China Asset Management, Teng Tianming, stepped down from his role on August 19 due to personal reasons, according to a company filing dated August 21.
Group chairman Yang Minghui is filling in in the role at the Rmb317 billion ($52 billion) asset manager.
Chinese-language media have cited Tang Xiaodong, deputy director-general of the international affairs department of mainland regulator China Securities Regulatory Commission, as a possible replacement.
Citic Securities holds a majority shareholding in the fund house.
Teng was appointed to the CEO role in July 2012. He replaced Fan Yonghong, who had resigned, also for personal reasons in May that year.
Ex-Goldman Hong Kong head resurfaces at MS PWM
Vivien Webb, former Hong Kong-head of Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management, has resurfaced at Morgan Stanley, reportedly in a senior management role.
The hire comes as Morgan Stanley's banking arm has been growing. Its recently installed Asia ex-Japan co-chief executive Gokul Laroia said the wealth business would be “solidly profitable this year” and that AUM would reach near-record highs, as reported by our sister publication FinanceAsia.
Earlier this month, AsianInvestor revealed that Webb left Goldman Sachs after a decade stint at the group. Prior to joining Goldman in April 2004, she was at HSBC Private Bank, where had worked since April 2000.
RBC WM hires new Asia brokerage co-head
Canadian bank RBC Wealth Management has appointed Joel Goh to the newly created role of co-head of its brokerage and futures operations alongside fellow co-head David Ka, effective earlier this month.
Hong Kong-based Goh reports directly to Michael Yong-haron, head of North Asia.
Goh joins from Julius Baer, where he was executive director for its team covering China, which is based in Hong Kong.
A spokeswoman for the Swiss bank declined to comment on whether a replacement had been or would be found.
S&P replaces Asia-Pacific head
Credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has appointed Matthew Bosrock as head of Asia-Pacific ex-Japan, effective August 26.
He succeeds Dominic Crawley, who has returned to the UK to resume his former role as global head of financial services and sovereign and international public finance operations.
Singapore-based Bosrock joins from HSBC, where he had worked for 19 years, most recently as deputy chief executive and chief operating officer at HSBC Canada.
S&P also announced the recent appointments of Fabienne Michaux, Cathy Daicoff, Elena Okorochenko and Guy Deslondes as general managers for Asia Pacific.
Michaux leads the business in Australia, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Singapore, and Taiwan from her base in Melbourne. She was most recently regional chief credit officer for S&P.
Daicoff will be responsible for expanding the firm’s presence in several markets, including Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand. She will relocate to Singapore from New York, where she was a senior criteria officer. She was most recently group regional head for Latin America.
Deslondes is S&P's head of corporate ratings for Asia Pacific. He transferred to Singapore from Milan, where he was lead analytical manager for the European heavy industries practice.
Okorochenko was formerly Asia-Pacific lead analytical manager for sovereign and IPF ratings. She will continue to be based in Singapore.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor this week:
EFG AM on buildout, plans multi-asset fund
Threadneedle opens office in Korea
Duo exits EFG to set up external asset manager