MFC hires Asia-Pacific equities head

Linda Csellak joined MFC Global Investment Management (Asia) in Hong Kong in December as head of Asia-Pacific equities, succeeding Colin Ng, who left the firm in November.

Csellak's most recent post was as a director at Ballingal Investment Advisors in Hong Kong, where she managed a Pacific long-short strategy. She left Ballingal in March and spent several months in mainland China studying Mandarin before taking up her new role.

As for why she joined MFC, she tells AsianInvestor: "They're in a real growth phase, and I like the team. [The company] fosters a collaborative team environment and I know a lot of them from working in the industry. Also, the investment style is akin to what I've done in the past, so I'm very comfortable with it: the style is growth at a reasonable price or 'Garb'."

Reporting to Tahnoon Pasha, Asia head of investments, equities, Csellak will oversee the Hong Kong-based Asia equities team and work closely with MFC GIM's team of 43 equity portfolio managers and analysts on the ground in 10 territories across the region.

She has extensive experience in managing teams of analysts and managers, covering both country and sector-level research, says Pasha. Csellak's Asian market specialties -- South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand and the Philippines -- complement those of the existing team, he adds.

Csellak has over 20 years of investment management experience, including 14 years in Asian equity and fixed-income markets. Before working for Ballingal, she spent six years with Credit Agricole Asset Management as a director and one year with Doric Capital as portfolio manager.

MFC GIM is a subsidiary of Canadian insurance group Manulife, which is expanding its asset-management business fast in the region. MFC GIM's equities desk manages $823 million in assets out of a total Asia AUM of $32.5 billion.