Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 17
BARINGS'S APAC EX-JAPAN CEO RETIRES
Gerry Ng, chief executive for Asia Pacific ex-Japan at Barings, retired at the end of 2019 after 15 years at the firm, AsianInvestor can reveal.
Duncan Robertson, Sydney-based head of Asia Pacific, will continue to oversee the US-based asset manager's business in the region, a company spokeswoman said. He reports to chairman and chief executive Tom Finke.
NORTHERN TRUST LOSES APAC HEAD OF SEC LENDING TRADING
Andrew Geggus has left his role as Hong Kong-based head of Asia-Pacific securities lending trading at Northern Trust.
The Chicago-based asset servicing and management firm declined to say whether it was seeking a replacement.
Geggus said in a LinkedIn post last week that he was leaving to take up a new opportunity. He declined to provide details to AsianInvestor.
M&G HIRES ASIA DISTRIBUTION HEAD
UK-based M&G Investments has hired Berny Lin as Asia ex-Japan head of distribution in Singapore effective January 10, following its October split from parent insurer Prudential.
He was previously chief distribution officer and chief marketing officer at Eastspring Investments, the fund management arm of British insurer Prudential, based in Taiwan.
Lin's arrival follows the November hire of M&G's new head of Asia, Loretta Ng, who also joined from Eastspring, where she had been Taiwan chief executive.
Lin will oversees M&G’s wholesale and institutional coverage in the region, leading teams based in Hong Kong and Singapore to service clients across Asia.
His appointment follows the departure of William Tan, M&G's former Asia-Pacific head of intermediary channels for Asia Pacific, around October last year. Tan had joined M&G in April 2018 to cover private banks, external asset managers and wealth managers.
The M&G spokesman declined to say who had previously looked after institutional business in the region.
An Eastspring spokeswoman did not disclose when Lin left the firm, saying only that the firm was reviewing a number options for the role and would not be making an immediate appointment.
Lin's move follows numerous senior departures from Eastspring last year, most notably those of its then chief executive, chief financial officer and chief operating officer in January. The firm has since installed new incumbents in some of the vacant positions.
Before joining Eastspring, Lin spent six years at Deutsche Asset Management in Hong Kong and Taiwan, leading the institutional sales team in Taiwan.
SCHRODERS NAMES TAIWAN CHAIRWOMAN
UK fund house Schroders promoted Francine Wu to the newly created role of chairwoman for Taiwan on January 2. She has taken over certain unspecified duties from Steve Bryant, Asia-Pacific chief administrative officer.
Wu was previously the country head for Taiwan; former deputy country head Brian Hsieh takes over that role.
Wu reports to Lieven Debruyne, who is Hong Kong-based chief executive for Asia Pacific but is this year due to relocate to London as global head of distribution.
A spokesman for Schroders told AsianInvestor: "It’s a well deserved promotion for Francine. She has been instrumental in building solid relationships with the government, industry, and clients in Taiwan since joining Schroders in 1995."
DEUTSCHE BANK WM NAMES SENIOR EM AND NORTH ASIA EXECS
Deutsche Bank Wealth Management has named Tham Siok Kuan in Singapore as head of wealth discretionary for emerging markets and promoted Boris Kwok to group head for North Asia, with a focus on China.
Before assuming her new role on January 8, Tham was Singapore head of fixed income at DWS Investments, a company spokeswoman said. She declined to comment on who would succeed Tham.
Tham has replaced Tuan Huynh, who relocated from Singapore to Frankfurt in March last year to become chief investment officer for Europe and had retained the emerging market duties in the interim.
Kwok reports to Kanas Chan, Hong Kong-based managing director and head of North Asia at Deutsche Bank WM. The spokeswoman did not comment on who had looked after Kwok's new duties before he had come on board.
He had been Hong Kong-based market head for China at Standard Chartered Private Bank until earlier this month. A StanChart spokeswoman declined to comment on whether a replacement was being sought.
GOLDEN EQUATOR EXPANDS INTO BRUNEI
Golden Equator Group, a Singapore-based multi-family office, has set up an office in Brunei and appointed Aziemah Abdullah as country head.
Abdullah is also responsible for business development and will be supported by senior staff flying into Brunei regularly, a spokesman said. Golden Equator has not yet finalised hiring plans for the new branch, he added.
Abdullah was previously head of business development at Royal Brunei Technical Services, an acquisitions and systems services provider.
CAPITAL GROUP HIRES NORTH ASIA INTERMEDIARIES MARKETING HEAD
US asset manager Capital Group has hired Debbie Fok in Hong Kong as marketing director for financial intermediaries for Hong Kong and North Asia, effective January 2.
She was previously Hong Kong-based head of marketing for Asia at US fund house Matthews Asia from July to December 2019. A spokeswoman for Matthews Asia declined to say whether she had been or would be replaced.
Before joining Matthews Asia, Fok spent a decade at JP Morgan Asset Management in senior marketing roles. She started her career at Fidelity Investments.
Fok now reports to Hannah Aymé, Capital Group's managing director for financial intermediaries marketing for Europe and Asia.
Fok is the first dedicated marketing executive for financial intermediary clients in Hong Kong and North Asia. The role was created as part of Capital Group’s regional business expansion, said a spokeswoman, and was previously covered by several marketing executives in Asia.
LOMBARD ODIER HIRES PM FOR NEW ABSOLUTE RETURN STRATEGY
Lombard Odier Investment Managers has hired Alexis Maubourguet as lead portfolio manager for a new uncorrelated absolute return strategy for institutional clients, due to go live early this year. He joined on November 18.
Tasked with running 1798 Adapt (Acyclical Diversifying Alpha via Parameters Trading), Maubourguet is based in Geneva. He reports to Jean-Pascal Porcherot, chief executive of 1798 Alternatives, the alternatives investment platform of Lombard Odier IM.
Maubourguet was formerly a volatility portfolio manager at Swiss alternative investment manager Argentière Capital. Argentière did not respond to inquiries about when Maubourguet left the firm or who had taken over his responsibilities.
Before his three years at Argentière Capital, Maubourguet was an emerging markets portfolio manager at BTG Pactual. He also spent almost a decade trading derivatives at JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank in New York and London.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week: