AXA Hong Kong appoints new CIO as Fanda Ho departs
AXA Hong Kong and Macau promoted Torsten Blake-Bohm to chief investment officer, effective July 1, succeeding Fanda Ho, the firm confirmed with AsianInvestor.
Ho, who joined AXA from Prudential in February 2023, has left the firm, AsianInvestor can reveal.
Blake-Bohm was most recently the French insurer’s director of investment, solutions and strategic ALM (asset liability management) for the Hong Kong unit.
In the new role, he becomes a member of the CFO leadership team and reports directly to Laurent Cholvy, chief financial officer of AXA Hong Kong and Macau.
“Torsten's extensive experience and leadership within AXA, from his initial role in the group ALM team in 2015 to his subsequent responsibilities in Hong Kong…demonstrate his strong commitment to the company,” a spokesperson of AXA told AsianInvestor.
“This appointment further emphasises AXA’s dedication to the development of its home-grown talent,” the spokesperson said.
INTERNAL PROMOTION
Blake-Bohm joined AXA in Paris in 2015 as a quantitative analyst for group ALM, before relocating to Hong Kong in 2017 as an ALM analyst.
He had been with the ALM team until July 2022, when he was promoted from co-head of ALM to head of investment and solutions. AsianInvestor was the first to report on his promotion.
Before joining AXA, Blake-Bohm was a derivative sales with French banking company LCL in Paris.
Blake-Bohm is AXA's third Hong Kong CIO since 2022.
Prior to Ho, the investment team was headed by Richard Chan, who served as both CIO and head of ALM Asia until September 2022. Chan is now FTLife’s chief investment and ALM officer.
Ho is an industry veteran with over 16 years of experience in investment management. AsianInvestor was the first to report on her move to AXA from Prudential, where she spent over five years and left as head of investments.
She previously held investment solutions and portfolio management roles at Aviva Investors and Prudential Assurance in London.
Ho did not respond to a request for comment on her departure.
NAVIGATING NEW REGIME
The CIO reshuffle comes as the Hong Kong Insurance Authority officially implemented the risk-based capital (RBC) regime on July 1, marking a significant industry milestone.
Under RBC rules, insurers must strengthen ALM and risk oversight of investment portfolios to balance regulatory requirements and returns.
AXA Hong Kong holds €22.2 billion ($24 billion) in investments denominated in foreign currencies as of end-2023, according to its latest annual report. It oversees assets in Hong Kong and a small portion from Macau.