Value Partners shakes up leadership team

Value Partners has hired Wayne Shum to head up sales, as new boss Au King-Lun continues a radical management reshuffle that has already seen deputy chief executive Raymond Tam and head of exchange-traded funds William Chow leave the firm.

Shum, formerly deputy CEO of BOCHK Asset Management, joined Value Partners this month, said a company spokesperson on Monday, without giving a precise date.

That's after Tam and Chow departed in February, according to sources familiar with the Hong Kong-based funds firm, and follows the appointment of Au as CEO in December. Tam previously served as both head of sales and deputy CEO.

Both Tam and Chow are understood to be taking some time off.

The moves at Value Partners form part of a raft of recent personnel changes. Jasmine Hung from the institutional sales team, investment analyst Andrew Lai and head of marketing Anne Lui all headed for the exit door in April, sources familiar with the company said. Value Partners declined to comment on whether they had been replaced.

The changes also follow a tricky period for the firm. Value Partners was fined HK$2 million ($257,818) in late January by Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission for allowing two of its funds – China Greenchip Fund and Greater China High Yield Income Fund – to exceed their authorised share capital. In addition, assets under management fell by 15% in 2016 to $13.2 billion, although these have since rebounded to an unaudited $14.5 billion as of March 31.

Au was previously CEO of Eastspring Investments (Hong Kong), a subsidiary of UK insurance group Prudential. He succeeded Timothy Tse, who resigned in November.

Before that Au was at BOCHK Asset Management, where Shum served as head of institutional business. According to one industry source, it is understood that Shum has not yet been replaced at BOCHK and that his duties have been shared by several managing directors.

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