Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 24
Aberdeen reshuffles in fixed income
Aberdeen Asset Management has named Victor Rodriguez head of Asia-Pacific fixed income, with immediate effect. He replaces Anthony Michael, who left earlier this month after 18 years with the UK firm.
Rodriguez was previously Aberdeen’s Australia head of fixed income in Sydney from May 2009 to December 2013. He will transition to his new role in the coming months, permanently relocating to Singapore by year-end.
Rodriguez previously spent nearly around 13 years at Credit Suisse Asset Management as deputy head of fixed income. During his time at Credit Suisse, he focused on both global and Asian fixed income.
Nick Bishop, previously a senior investment manager on the Australian fixed income team, will succeed Rodriguez. Bishop joined Aberdeen in 2007, previously working at Deutsche Asset Management in Australia.
Adam McCabe, previously deputy of Asian fixed income in Singapore, will become head of Asia fixed income ex-Australia, and continue work in the Lion City.
Michael spent the last six years in Singapore, where he helped build the firm’s 14-strong Asia ex-Australia fixed income team.
Aberdeen managed $320 billion as of end-December and has 28 staff focused on fixed income in the region.
Franklin Templeton hires alternatives sales head
Franklin Templeton Investments has appointed Scott Collison to the newly created role of Asia head of alternatives sales, citing a growing interest for alternatives strategies among the region’s investors. Based in Singapore, he reports to Mark Browning, Asia managing director.
Collison previously spent a year as CEO of Talos Strategies, a Singapore advisory firm for traditional and alternative asset managers. Talos could not be reached for comment.
Before that, he helped found Orvent Asset Management, an Asian equities hedge fund manager.
He also spent nearly two years as a portfolio manager at Israel 'Izzy' Englander’s hedge fund Millennium Capital Management in its Singapore office, according to his LinkedIn profile.
HSBC appoints regional retail head
HSBC has named Kevin Martin as Asia-Pacific head of retail banking and wealth management, effective January 20. He succeeds Louisa Cheang, who recently relocated to London to take up the newly created role of group head of retail banking. She has been with the bank for 15 years.
Martin is a 27-year veteran of HSBC, whose most recent post was North American head of retail banking and wealth management and marketing based in New York. He has held a variety of roles across marketing, training, corporate banking and retail banking in the UK, Hong Kong and Canada as well as the US.
A spokeswoman did not have an immediate response as to who has replaced Martin in New York.
RBC WM expands sales team
Leslie Goh joined RBC Wealth Management earlier this month as an investment counsellor in Singapore.
In his newly created role, he reports to Febby Avianto, managing director and market manager at RBC WM Southeast Asia, and advises on and manages investment portfolios.
Goh joined from Union Bancaire Privee, where he was a managing director based in Singapore. UBP did not have a response by press time.
This appointment follows the October hire of Soh Chye-Guan as a managing director and market manager, also a newly created position. He reports to Grace Barki, Southeast Asia head of RBC WM. Soh previously held a similar role at Barclays Wealth.
Mercer names Greater China talent business head
Mercer has hired Sun Xun as its Greater China talent business leader. He joined the investment consultancy’s Beijing office earlier this month.
Sun reports to Susan Haberman, talent business leader for global growth markets in Chicago, and Jonathan Gove, Hong Kong-based managing director for Greater China.
Before joining Mercer, Sun founded Beijing-based Dragon Wisdom Management Consulting in February 2009 and was there until his move.
Sun's role previously fell under the remit of Alex Zhang, a managing director for China, who remains with the firm.
Henley Group hires senior economist
Hong Kong financial advisory firm The Henley Group has named Martin Hennecke as chief economist, a newly created role, effective November. He previously held senior investment positions at advisory firm Tyche Group in Hong Kong and before that Kreissparkasse Koeln in Germany.
Hennecke is based in Hong Kong, but will travel frequently to Henley’s offices in Shanghai and Singapor.
Other people news reported in AsianInvestor this week:
Fullerton opens in Japan to service local clients
Principal in talks on China distribution, adds staff
Reported CIC reshuffle raises questions