Robeco hires Mercer's Ryan Kim as Korea head

Dutch asset manager Robeco last month hired Mercer’s former Korea investment advisory head Ryan Kim Changwon to oversee its Seoul operations.

He replaced Ken Park, who left in July to join alternative fund house Oaktree Capital Management in Hong Kong after four-and-a-half years at Robeco, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Two sales staff report to Kim, who in turn reports directly to Tony Edwards, Robeco's Asia-Pacific chief executive.

Robeco doesn’t have more hiring plans in Korea, but it is seeking to add sales staff to its 40-strong team in Hong Kong and Singapore under initiatives to expand its investor base among institutions and banks in Asia.

Kim spent almost two years at Mercer as Korea head of investment advisory. Before joining the investment consultancy in June 2012, he worked at sovereign wealth fund Korea Investment Corporation for just under four years as a portfolio manager and before that as an equity analyst at Daewoo Securities.

Mercer says Kim’s position has been absorbed internally.

He has not been the only person to leave Mercer in recent months. Michelle Ng moved on in December after less than a year as head of advisory for Greater China to join Manulife Asset Management as a portfolio specialist responsible for asset allocation.

Ng's exit followed a restructuring of the Asian business earlier in the year following the departure of Asia-Pacific investments leader Stephen Roberts.

That said, Mercer hired Lisa Sun in November as managing director and market leader for Asean based in Singapore. She came from Zurich Insurance Group, where she held a similar position. Sun replaced Wong Su-Yen, who took on the newly created role of senior adviser to Mercer and sister consulting firm Oliver Wyman.