Weekly roundup of job-hoppers, Nov 30
Andrew Gordon exits BNY Mellon after 27 years
Andrew Gordon, a longstanding veteran of BNY Mellon, has parted ways with the custodian bank.
He had served in Hong Kong as Asia-Pacific head of alternative and broker-dealer services since 2008. The highly regarded Gordon, named custodian banker of the year by AsianInvestor in 2011, is understood to have left on good terms with BNY Mellon.
He spent much of his career with bank, starting in London in 1985 at what was then The Bank of New York (it merged with Mellon Financial Corporation in 2007). His 27 years at the custodian bank include a five-year posting in Tokyo, where he was country manager for Japan, and more recently in Hong Kong, where he has been for the past decade.
A BNY Mellon spokeswoman says: “We can confirm that Andrew Gordon will be leaving BNY Mellon to pursue new opportunities. He has played an important role in the development of our alternative investment services business in Asia Pacific and we wish him every success for the future.”
It's understood that no replacement has been announced as yet.
Meanwhile, the bank has announced the appointment of Paul Solway as Asia-Pacific head of equity finance.
Reporting to Robert Chiuch, global head of equity finance in New York, Solway began in the newly created role in November. Based in Hong Kong, he will have responsibilities in developing the group’s local distribution channels and equity financing product lines.
Before joining BNY Mellon, Solway was at Macquarie Bank since 2005. He has also worked for HSBC securities and Nomura International.
Principal rehires EM and Asia portfolio managers
Investment manager Principal Global Investors announced the re-appointment of its two ex-veterans for its emerging-market equity team, following a string of departures from the same department.
Mohammed Zaidi will be based in Singapore and will manage global EM equities as head of emerging Asia strategies.
Zaidi had been senior EM equities analyst from 2001 and 2006 at Principal. However, he left the group to Scotland to manage global EM equities for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership and then at Martin Currie Investment Management.
Alan Wang is named portfolio manager for Hong Kong and China equities, and research team head for Greater China. He was with the firm from 2003 to 2008 on the global research and development team, and then as an EM analyst and portfolio manager for Hong Kong equities. Wang was most recently head of equities investment at Ping An of China Asset Management in Hong Kong.
The two appointments come following the recent exit of 11 of Principal’s EM team. These include two senior portfolio managers, US-based Michael Reynal and Singapore-based Michael Ade, who joined the $24 billion San Francisco-based manager RS Investments.
BNP Paribas replaces Asia wealth head
BNP Paribas Wealth Management has announced the promotion of Eric Aubin as head of international markets and other Asian markets [sic].
Singapore-based Aubin will start his new role in January and report to Mignonne Cheng, Asia-Pacific CEO of the wealth management division.
He comes in to replace Eric Morin, who left recently. Media reports suggest Morin has moved to boutique private bank Sarasin, but a spokeswoman for the Swiss firm denies this is the case.
Aubin is serving out his term as global head of wealth planning solutions in Paris, where he manages the international wealth planning teams in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. He will be succeeded internally by Stephane Wilmot.
Aubin has previously worked in the region for the French bank, including stints as Hong Kong CEO of wealth management and head of development for Asia.
In 2011, the group announced regional restructuring plans with a view to focusing its business on countries where it sees the greatest market potential. Earlier this year, the group made several senior hires as it looks to expand its business for Greater China and it is also targeting non-resident Indians in North Asia with the hire of Akshay Jaitly.
Property investment firm eyes Europe with Asia hire
Real estate investment manager Cordea Savills has hired Reynold Chan as business development director for Asia to target investors in the region seeking European property exposure.
Chan joins from Calista Consultants in Hong Kong, where he was a principal providing property and financing solutions to clients involved in real estate and M&A transactions in Asia. He started in his Hong Kong-based role this week and reports to Justin O’Connor, the firm’s London-based CEO.
A London-based representative for Cordea Savills says it will initially target family offices and wealthy individuals looking to invest in European properties. In time, it will expand its offerings to institutional investors.
“Cordea Savills recognise that family offices have a strong appetite for single-asset mandates, and institutions are looking closely at separate accounts and pooled funds, while high-net-worth individuals are frequently investing in pooled funds through private banks,” says the representative.
The group believes there are attractive opportunities for investors in Europe as a result of a re-pricing caused in part by banks de-leveraging, coupled with yields in the region that are generally higher than those in Asia currently.
Chan’s hire reflects a trend for property firms to increasingly target wealthy individuals in Asia, with some companies, such as Jones Lang LaSalle, having set up dedicated teams to service this segment.
Coutts names Philippines and private office heads
RBS’s wealth division, Coutts, has announced two additions to its Asia business: Ray Chan as head of the Philippines and Joseph Lam as head of private office for North Asia.
Ray Chan began his role this week in Hong Kong. Reporting to Ignatius Chong, head of Hong Kong, Chan will be responsible for developing offshore wealth management solutions for the Philippines market.
Charles Luchangco had held the post at one point, but left the firm last year. Coutts could not confirm by press time whether anyone else had been in the role since then.
Chan was previously at Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for building up an offshore Philippines team targeting the ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) segment. He has also worked for Credit Suisse, HSBC Private Banking, Citigroup Private Bank and Bank of Bermuda.
Hong Kong-based Lam’s private office post is a newly created role. He is responsible for creating and implementing strategies to expand its UHNW business.
“Family office needs for succession planning are increasing as first-generation wealth matures and Asia undergoes the biggest inter-generational wealth transfer in history,” says Coutts.
Lam was most recently at Merrill Lynch, where he was a managing director responsible for building the private investment banking group in Hong Kong.
His move comes as Swiss-based Julius Baer is set to buy Merrill Lynch’s non-US wealth management business, with media reports suggesting that as many as 1,000 jobs may be cut.
Other people move stories on AsianInvestor this week:
Build-out behind GSAM move to bolster Asia leadership
Chen to lead institutional sales for Fidelity in China