Weekly roundup of people news, August 27
Julius Baer funds head quits
Swiss private bank Julius Baer’s head of fund solutions has resigned to join Bank of Singapore (BoS).
Industry sources said Singapore-based Hsiao Ching Tang is serving her notice period but will soon replace Chandrima Das as fund gatekeeper at BoS. Das will officially leave BoS in mid-October.
A Julius Baer spokeswoman declined to confirm Tang’s resignation. A BoS spokeswoman said a replacement for Das had been found but refused to identify her.
Tang joined Julius Baer in 2010 from BNP Paribas Wealth Management, where she was head of funds advisory for Southeast Asia.
She was reported to have worked at Temasek Holdings for eight years, acquiring experience in private equity and direct investment, business development and risk management.
Meanwhile Jiun Wen Chee, a Singapore-based director on Julius Baer’s fund due diligence team, left the company this week. A Julius Baer spokeswoman confirmed his departure.
He joined the private bank in August 2012, according to his LinkedIn profile, and previously worked at Partners Group as a consultant manager between July 2010-July 2012. Prior to that he was a senior consulting associate at Cambridge Associates between 2006-2010 and an analyst at Goldman Sachs between 2003-2006.
Former Rothschild MD reunites with Chan at BMO
Canada’s BMO Private Bank has appointed Steven So as managing director for North Asia. So started in the newly-created position in early August and reports to Monique Chan, his former boss and now Asia CEO at BMO Private Bank.
Both Chan and So worked at the private banking arm of Edmond de Rothschild in Hong Kong. Chan was chief executive while So was managing director and market head for relationship management.
Chan left to join BMO in May, while So resigned shortly afterwards. So has more than 28 years of experience in investment and private banking.
JP Morgan AM names new Japan president
JP Morgan Asset Management has hired Shoichi Ohkoshi to be its new Japan president. Tokyo-based Ohkoshi will join the firm on September 1 and report to Asia-Pacific CEO Michael Falcon, with a functional reporting line to Patrick Thomson, global head of sovereigns, in relation to the institutional business.
As country head for the Japan investment management business, Ohkoshi will lead the firm’s funds and institutional businesses in Japan.
Ohkoshi joins the asset management business from JP Morgan Securities Japan, where he has worked since 1994 in fixed income, foreign exchange and equities sales as well as derivative products development and marketing.
Most recently, he has held dual leadership roles as the head of fixed income / equities sales and marketing at JPMorgan Securities and head of fixed income sales and marketing at JPMorgan Chase Bank.
Kazuhiro Nakajima and Yuko Yoshida will succeed Ohkoshi as co-heads of Japan sales and marketing, markets and investor services.
Simon Walls, the current chairman and president of JP Morgan Asset Management (Japan), will continue to serve as chairman of the company.
Credit Suisse hires from HSBC Private Bank
Credit Suisse has hired Abhishek Mehrotra as director and team head for private banking in Hong Kong. According to his LinkedIn profile, he joined the bank in August. A Credit Suisse spokeswoman declined to comment on Mehrotra’s appointment and who he reports to.
A spokeswoman at HSBC Private Bank, which has seen a string of executive departures recently, declined to say if Mehrotra had been replaced. She did not respond to inquiries about finding a replacement for Mehrotra.
Mehrotra worked at HSBC Private Bank as a director for relationship management from March 2010 to July 2015. He covered Southeast Asia out of Hong Kong.
He worked at HSBC’s banking arm between October 2004-May 2010, where his positions included assistant vice-president and vice-president for commercial banking.
CBRE names new Asia CEO
Property services firm CBRE has appointed Steven Swerdlow as Asia-Pacific CEO. Swerdlow assumed the position on August 25 and has taken over from Daniel Queenan, who has relocated to the US after serving as Asia-Pacific CEO for the past two years.
Swerdlow reports to executive chairman Robert Blain and will divide his time between Asia Pacific and the US as he maintains management responsibilities for CBRE’s US Western Division. Swerdlow’s previous title was chief operating officer (COO) Americas for CBRE, which included his continuing role as president of CBRE's US Western Division.
Queenan also assumed the role of COO of CBRE’s investment management arm – CBRE Global Investors – on August 25. He reports to CBRE Global Investors’ CEO Matt Khourie and will serve on CBRE Global Investors’ executive committee and global investment committee. Queenan’s move back to the US comes after CBRE Global Investors appointed Ritson Ferguson as CIO in August. Queenan is tasked with driving CBRE Global Investors' strategy and operations.
Real estate services firm CBRE has hired Yvonne Siew as executive director for international capital, China. Shanghai-based Siew will join in September and will report to Marc Giuffrida, executive director for international capital, Asia, and Ivan Poon, president of CBRE China.
In the newly-created role, Siew will coordinate CBRE’s relationships and opportunities with private and institutional investors within China.
Siew has joined CBRE after a decade as director and head of Asia real estate in the investments department at Citi Private Bank.
Morningstar recruits Asia head of equity research
Investment research firm Morningstar has appointed Lorraine Tan to the newly-created role of director of Asia equity research.
Tan joined Morningstar in July and reports to Michael Holt, head of global equity research, and Nick Cheung, chief executive for Asia.
Based in Singapore, she leads 11 equity analysts in Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and oversees Morningstar’s Asian equity research, including company reports, analyst notes, pick lists, and industry and sector research, along with proprietary qualitative ratings.
Tan has more than two decades of experience in equity research, covering a variety of sectors in the region. From 2000 to 2014 she led Standard & Poor’s equity research business in Asia. She most recently covered the energy and utilities sectors and often wrote about Asian market strategy, with a particular focus on Hong Kong and China. Before joining S&P in Singapore, she worked on the sell side with various firms in Malaysia.
Aviva Investors appoints Taiwan chief
UK asset manager Aviva Investors has hired Lian Yang to head up its Taiwan operation.
Taipei-based Yang joined on August 7 as the general manager of Aviva Investors Taiwan. She reports to Scott Callander, managing director and head of Asia-Pacific business development for Aviva Investors.
Yang succeeds Vina Cheng, who became general manager of Threadneedle Investments Taiwan in May, according to her LinkedIn profile.
The appointment comes as Aviva Investors, the asset management arm of UK insurer Aviva, sets out its regional expansion plans. This month the firm appointed CTBC Investments as its master agent in Taiwan, and launched its AIMS Target Return Fund in Australia in May 2015.
Yang was previously general manager of Robeco Taiwan between November 2012-July 2013 and head of institutional sales at Deutsche Asset Management from August 2011- October 2012. Prior to that she was a senior business development manager at Aberdeen Asset Management from January 2008 to July 2011.
PineBridge bolsters institutional team
Global asset manager PineBridge Investments has hired Alfred Lee as vice president for institutional business development. Hong Kong-based Lee joined PineBridge on August 10 in the newly-created position and reports to Rajeev Mittal, CEO of PineBridge Asia.
As a part of the sales and distribution team, Lee will focus on strengthening and developing relationships with institutional clients in Hong Kong, Macau and the Philippines.
Lee comes from BlackRock, where he had worked since July 2009, according to his LinkedIn profile. He held various positions there and was part of both business development and client services within the firm’s institutional client business team. A BlackRock spokesperson failed to respond to AsianInvestor's enquiries as to whether Lee had been replaced.
Principal recruits compliance executive
Principal Global Investors (Singapore) has hired Hai Leng Lim as deputy director for compliance. Lim joined PGI on August 25 and reports to Hong Kong-based Daniel Lam, Asia compliance director.
Lim was most recently at Dymon Asia Capital as compliance manager, and had previously held compliance positions with Man Investments, Fullerton Fund Management, and Deutsche Asset Management.
She replaced Shereendar Singh at PGI Singapore.
KPMG hires partner in financial crime
Auditor KPMG has hired David Cope as a partner focusing on financial crime compliance and investigations. Hong Kong-based Cope joined KPMG on August 5. The position is newly created, as part of KPMG’s expansion of its anti-money laundering and sanctions team.
Cope has joined from Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML), where he worked from August 2013 to July 2015. He was a managing director responsible for oversight of programmes and processes for anti-money laundering, anti-bribery and corruption and economic sanctions.
Prior to that he worked as an executive director at Morgan Stanley (June 2008-July 2013) managing the anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance programme in Asia Pacific.
Before joining the financial services sector, Cope worked with the Hong Kong Police Force for seventeen years, focusing on investigating and prosecuting serious complex financial crime and money laundering.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor over the past week:
Ting Li joins Reorient from SSGA