Weekly roundup of people news, Dec 8
EFG TO SET UP ASIA ADVISORY BOARD, APPOINT CHAIR
EFG International, a Swiss group that offers private banking and asset management services, has announced that Fong Seng Tee will chair a new advisory board for Asia, which is expected to be set up before the end of this year.
The advisory board will provide guidance and advice to support the bank’s growth strategy in the region.
EFG also said it had nominated Fong for election to its board of directors at the next annual general meeting in April 27, 2018.
Fong joins EFG from Credit Suisse, where he held various senior management positions, most recently as vice-chairman of Asia-Pacific private banking.
He was also previously chief executive of Credit Suisse’s Hong Kong branch and market head for Greater China.
Credit Suisse declined to comment on the departure and on whether a replacement had been named for Fong.
FULLERTON FM CONFIRMS TIE-UP WITH NTUC INCOME
Singaporean insurer NTUC Income and Fullerton Fund Management have confirmed a partnership that was first reported exclusively by AsianInvestor in August.
The proposed strategic partnership will see Fullerton FM appointed as the investment manager of a portfolio of income assets estimated at S$23 billion ($17 billion).
In a media statement, NTUC said it wil transfer relevant fund management personnel to Fullerton to maintain continuity in the management of the partnership’s assets.
AsianInvestor reported in August that Mark Wang, NTUC’s chief investment officer, was expected to remain overall head of the investment team.
There have already been senior changes in personnel in the past year at Fullerton, most notably the departure of Manraj Sekhon, former CEO and CIO, in November last year.
Later that month Patrick Yeo was promoted to CIO from head of fixed income, and there have been other appointments, including Jenny Sofian from Amundi as CEO in November this year.
In addition, Gopi Mirchandani left the role of head of sales strategy in December and has since become Singapore CEO of NN Investment Partners. Her role was absorbed into that of Trevor Chudleigh, Fullerton’s head of business development.
Fullerton is owned by state firm Temasek, while NTUC Income was set up by the Singapore government.
As part of the terms, NTUC will own a significant minority stake in Fullerton’s holding company FFMC Holdings.
AVIVA INVESTORS APPOINTS ASIAN FIXED INCOME HEAD
Aviva Investors has appointed Adeline Ng as head of Asian fixed income and Alice Wu as an Asian fixed income analyst. Both will be based in Singapore and take up their roles on December 11.
In her newly created role, Ng will report to Dan James, global head of fixed income, and will be responsible for leading Aviva Investors’ fixed income business in the region.
Meanwhile Jethro Goodchild, head of Asian credit, is leaving Aviva Investors at the end of December to pursue other opportunities, according to a media statement.
James and Goodchild used to oversee the Asian fixed income business before Ng’s appointment.
Ng was previously head of Asian fixed income at BNP Paribas Asset Management between 2008 and October 2017.
Wu, who also joins from BNP Paribas AM, will report to Ng, and will be responsible for further development of regional credit research.
She joined BNP Paribas AM initially as a portfolio analyst before being promoted to fixed income analyst in March 2016.
A spokesman for BNP Paribas AM said the asset manager had combined its emerging market debt and Asian fixed income teams, which will be led by London-based emerging market debt head Bryan Carter and deputy head Jean-Charles Sambor.
“The team in Asia will include a portfolio managers, investment specialist and analyst resources, spread across key markets such as Hong Kong, Singapore and ultimately China.”
In July, the fund house told AsianInvestor it was relocating its Asia fixed income team to Hong Kong as it increased its focus on China.
The spokesperson declined to provide further details on the status of the relocation.
INCOME PARTNERS RESHUFFLES LEADERS AFTER SEQUOIA INVESTMENT
Income Partners, an Asian fixed income manager based in Hong Kong, has made a series of changes in its management following a strategic investment from venture capital fund Sequoia China, a deal the company announced last month.
CIO Emil Nguy will become co-CEO along with Francis Tjia, a company spokesman said. Nguy and Tjia are co-founders of the company.
Senior portfolio managers Raymond Gui and Suvir Mukhi have been promoted to co-CIOs and partners of the firm.
Poon Suen Son is promoted to COO and continue to be the general counsel of the firm.
DEUTSCHE WM BULKS UP CLIENT COVERAGE TEAM IN SINGAPORE
Deutsche Bank Wealth Management hired six Singapore-based relationship managers to cover clients in Southeast Asia in November.
The six relationship managers work in two teams, but have the same functions and same regional coverage. One is a team of four led by Jonathan Ng and the other is a team of two led by Gregory Goh.
Effective November 8, Ng became a group head at the German bank, reporting to Kwong Kin-mun, head of wealth management coverage for Southeast Asia.
Ng’s team comprises of two other relationship managers and one service assistant. All joined from BNP Paribas. A spokeswoman for BNP Paribas said the bank declined to comment on personnel moves.
Goh joined Deutsche on November 20. He reports to group head Malcolm Tay.
He joins from Nomura along with his fellow team member Greta Tang. Nomura declined to comment on the departures.
The roles are all new and come as part of a hiring push in Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai to support a growth plan in Asia, a spokeswoman for Deutsche said. The bank plans to hire 100 client-facing staff worldwide, of whom 50 will be based in Asia, the spokeswoman added.
SCHRODERS NAMES NEW HEAD OF EM DEBT AND COMMODITIES
Schroders has named a replacement for the retiring head of its emerging market debt and commodities group.
Geoff Blanning, head of emerging market debt absolute return and commodities group, will retire and leave Schroders in April next year. He will be succeeded by Abdallah Guezour, currently head of emerging market debt absolute return, in January 2018.
Guezour will report to Nicky Richards, global head of equities, a spokeswoman said.
To ensure continuity, the spokeswoman added, Mark Lacey, a fund manager for Schroders specialising in commodities strategy, global energy and global gold, will take up the newly created role of head of commodities when Guezour assumes the new role.
Lacey will report to Guezour.
All of the positions are based in London.
PINEBRIDGE CREATES NEW CONSULTANT RELATIONS ROLE IN REGION
US asset manager PineBridge Investments has hired Michelle White as head of consultant relations in Asia.
White began on November 13, a company spokeswoman said, and she oversees the firm’s consultant relations efforts across Asia, with a focus on establishing and building relationships with global and regional investment consultants in the region.
The Singapore-based role is newly created to meet the needs of their regional clients, said the spokeswoman. Prior to White’s hiring, relationships with Asian consultants were managed by the global consultant relations team, the spokeswoman added.
White reports to chief executive for Asia Rajeev Mittal, as well as global head of consultant relations Jason Fisher.
Most recently, White was director of financial intermediaries for Southeast Asia at US financial services company Capital Group, a Capital Group spokeswoman confirmed.
Capital Group confirmed it would be filling the vacancy, but did not comment on whether it would be an external or internal hire.
RBC’S AUSTRALIAN UNIT MAKES SENIOR APPOINTMENT
Royal Bank of Canada’s (RBC) investor and treasury services (I&TS) unit has hired a product management head for Asia Pacific who will also serve as COO for Australia.
Effective December 4, Marian Azer became Sydney-based managing director, head of I&TS product management for Asia Pacific and COO for global client coverage in Australia.
Reporting jointly to David Travers, head of I&TS Australia, and Paul Stillabower, global head of product management, Azer is responsible for product strategy execution and governing client coverage activities in Australia.
The company said Gordon Little previously led I&TS product management in Asia Pacific, but the COO aspect of the role was new. It did not clarify whose duties the COO role fell under before, nor what Little would do next.
Azer was previously executive director, head of product and investor services for Australia and New Zealand at JP Morgan, according to her LinkedIn profile. The US company had not replied to AsianInvestor’ query about her departure by press time.
STANDARD CHARTERED HIRES NEW WEALTH MANAGEMENT EXECUTIVE
Standard Chartered has appointed Jimmy Chang as head of wealth markets products sales.
Effective December 1, Chang will oversee the wealth markets products sales team, part of the bank’s wealth management services, dealing with business, retail, and private banking clients, a spokesman said.
He will report to global head of wealth markets products sales and managed investments Alex Welch, as well as head of wealth management in Hong Kong Stephen Man.
Chang replaces departing head of wealth markets products sales in Hong Kong Stephen So, said the spokesman.
Most recently, Chang was head of retail and private wealth management at Huatai Financial Holdings, and before that he was managing director at UBS Wealth Management, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Huatai did not respond to queries by AsianInvestor by press time.
NOMURA WEALTH MANAGEMENT VICE-PRESIDENT EXITS
Nomura Wealth Management will lose a Singapore-based senior executive today.
Pauline Tan is serving her notice and her last day at Nomura Singapore is Friday, December 8, AsianInvestor can confirm.
She is the vice-president in the business management office of the wealth management division at Nomura Singapore and has been with the company for nearly ten years, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Nomura declines to comment on her departure.
OLD MUTUAL HIRES SALES MANAGER IN SINGAPORE
Old Mutual Investments has hired a sales manager in Singapore.
Effective December 4, Bryan Pee became Old Mutual's area sales manager for the city-state, reporting to Ian Kloss, CEO for Singapore and Southeast Asia, who is also based in Singapore.
This is a newly created role to help develop the business and increase the number of distribution partners in the region, a spokesman said.
Pee was previously a vice-president and wealth product manager at Bank of China Singapore, according to his LinkedIn profile. Bank of China could not be reached for comment.
AVALOQ APPOINTS ASIA MD
Wealth technology services provider Avaloq has appointed Chris Beukers as managing director for the Asia Pacific, effective this week.
Beukers joins from Pactera Technology International, a Chinese technology and consulting firm, where he was executive vice-president and general manager of the Asia Pacific business group, and led a team of about 700 professionals across the region.
Beukers, who is based in Singapore, replaces Peter Scott, who has decided to leave the firm. He has been with Avaloq since 2013. A media statement from Avaloq said that he plans to remain in Singapore and develop opportunities in the country’s financial technology industry.
Buekers will report to Jürg Hunziker, Avaloq’s deputy group CEO and group chief markets officer who is based in Singapore.
Neither Pactera nor Avaloq did not respond to AsianInvestor queries before press time.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week: