SGAM fills Hong Kong slot

SG Asset Management has hired Doris Wong in Hong Kong to head fund distribution for Greater China. Wong notes the North Asia business is only a bit over a year old, so the firm will be looking to do something new. "We're not looking just at the traditional retail channel, but bringing our structured products to institutions and high-net worth individuals," Wong says. "As the industry evolves I wonder if a true retail market will still exist."

Wong joins from Allianz Dresdner Asset Management, where she had headed Hong Kong retail sales. She got her start in the industry while working for Fidelity Investments in sales from 1995 to 2000.

This is a case of musical chairs: the position at SG Wong now fills was previously held by Eleanor Wan - who recently joined Allianz Dresdner as head of sales and marketing. Wan says the firm will have to look around the market for a replacement.

Wong now reports to Mahendran Nathan, managing director in Singapore.

She says SGAM has already laid the groundwork in Hong Kong by getting its Sogelux range of offshore funds authorized by the regulators. "It will be my duty to launch them," Wong says, adding the funds will target both institutional and retail segments.