Weekly roundup of people news, June 6
SSgA names Asia-Pacific intermediary chief
State Street Global Advisors (SSgA) has appointed James MacNevin to the newly created role of head of intermediary business for Asia Pacific.
MacNevin will remain in Sydney and retain his role as chief operating officer (COO) for Asia Pacific, reporting to Lochiel Crafter, head of Asia Pacific, and Jim Ross, global head of SPDR exchange-traded funds and intermediary distribution.
From 2009 to 2012 MacNevin was SSgA’s international head of operations and technology, based in London. He returned to Australia in 2012 to take up the COO role.
In his new role, he is in charge of managing client-facing staff, promoting investment solutions and ensuring execution of intermediary strategy. The division works with financial intermediaries to deliver investment solutions.
MacNevin started his career at SSgA in 1994 as Asia-Pacific head of investment operations.
Schroders appoints Korea head of distribution
UK fund house Schroders has named Kim Young-soo as head of distribution for Korea to replace Choi Man-yeon, who moved to BlackRock in March as Korea head.
On June 3, Choi replaced Yang Sung-nak, who has left the US firm after 13 years, but has agreed to stay on until June 23 to ensure a smooth transition. Choi takes on the same role and responsibilities.
BlackRock manages $650 million onshore in Korea, mostly for institutional mandates, and has 25 front-office and business operations staff in the country.
Based in Seoul, Kim is responsible for overseeing sales and marketing for the firm’s intermediary and institutional businesses. He reports to Korea chief executive Jeon Kil-soo, who earlier this year took over responsibility for distribution.
Prior to joining Schroders, which has 41 staff in Korea, Kim was chief marketing officer at Eastspring Investments. Before that, he held the same role at Macquarie-IMM Investment Management.
Henderson appoints Australia retail distribution head
Henderson Global Investors has appointed Jordan Tang as head of retail distribution for Australia, effective earlier this week, as the UK fund house seeks to build its business and launch more products in the country.
He joined from Ausbil Investment Management, where he held various retail sales roles. Ausbil declined to comment on whether it had replaced him.
Tang reports to the Australia head of distribution for Henderson, Matt Gaden, some of whose responsibilities he has taken over.
Henderson intends to launch a global fixed income unit trust next month, having launched a global equities fund in November.
“As we broaden our global suite of products, [Tang] will take responsibility for introducing these products to the retail market here in Australia and building up our retail assets under management from various retail channels,” said Rob Adams, Henderson’s executive chairman for Asia Pacific.
Both the retail and institutional segments in Australia are very competitive and that the quality of funds and servicing will be important, he told AsianInvestor.
“The Henderson stable is top-tier, and we are introducing new managers that are new to Australia and new capabilities,” said Adams. The Australia business is relatively young, with the Sydney office having opened in March last year.
“Under the presumption that we have the right high-quality investment capability, if we couple that high-quality service and relationship management, we will be very positive about our prospects,” he added.
However, Tang’s appointment does not signal that Henderson will focus on the retail market in Australia. Adams said the institutional and retail spaces are equally important to Henderson’s development in the country.
Adams said he may consider hiring an additional member to the 14-strong team in Australia, depending on institutional clients’ appetite.
Gaden joined in November 2012, and Sophia Rahmani joined as COO in March. Adams declined to divulge the firm’s assets under management for Australia, but said Asia comprises 5% of the firm’s AUM of £79.2 billion ($133 billion).
Eban loses asset management specialist
Search firm Eban International's Hong Kong-based asset management specialist went on gardening leave in May. Christopher Smailes is expected to resurface in a similar role around September, sources told AsianInvestor.
As of press time, AsianInvestor could not ascertain whether he will be replaced and Eban had not responded to a request for comment.
Smailes had been with Eban for eight years, having joined in London in 2006. He initially focused on equity markets in Europe.
He moved to Hong Kong in 2008 to head the asset and wealth management division, according to his LinkedIn profile. He covered assignments in Asia Pacific, including investment and non-investment positions across private and public investing.
Smailes started his career at another search firm, FSS, in London in 2001, where he managed a team that covered investment banking and asset management.
Deutsche names senior securites executive for China
Germany’s Deutsche Bank has poached Larry Chi from Morgan Stanley for the role of head of corporate banking and securities for China.
He will start in the role in September, reporting to Michael Ormaechea, co-head of corporate banking and securities for Asia Pacific. Chi will oversee Deutsche’s corporate banking and securities business portfolio in China.
He joins from Morgan Stanley in Hong Kong, where he was most recently head of Asia general sales for fixed income. Morgan Stanley declined to comment on whether he will be replaced.
Chi's role has emerged as a result of growth in markets business in China, says a spokeswoman.
His responsibilities would have come under the earlier remit of Henry Cai, when he was head of the corporate and investment bank for China based in Hong Kong. Cai continues in his role as executive chairman of corporate finance for Asia Pacific.
Other people news reported on AsianInvestor in the past week: