AllianceBernstein vet June Wong joins Threadneedle

June Wong has resigned from AllianceBernstein, where she is senior managing director of institutional sales for Asia ex-Japan, and is joining Threadneedle in Hong Kong.

Wong confirmed her departure from AllianceBernstein, but declined to comment.

In response to a query from AsianInvestor, Threadneedle released a one-line statement confirming that Wong would join the firm, and that it would make an announcement with details of her role “in due course”.

Sources familiar with the move say Wong is slated to take on a role directly reporting to Threadneedle Asia chairman Raymundo Yu, possibly as vice-chair for the region. Whatever the title, it seems she is leaving a big shop in order to have a more senior, broader role.

Details are scarce because Wong has yet to determine final issues such as leaving dates, starting dates and such with both firms.

Wong, a Hong Kong native, has served at AllianceBernstein for seven years. According to people familiar with the firm, when she joined, the institutional book of business from North Asia would have been in the range of $2-3 billion. It is believed to be more than double that size today.

Prior to her job at AllianceBernstein, she served as an institutional saleswoman at HSBC Asset Management for eight years – making her one of the most experienced institutional salespeople in the region.

Threadneedle has been on a hiring spree since bringing on Yu last year. The former Asia-Pacific chairman of Merrill Lynch has added a number of ex-Merrill executives, bringing a distinctly bankish flavour to the Asia arm of Threadneedle, an independent asset manager based in London. Wong marks his first pure buy-side senior hire.