Weekly roundup of people news, Mar 29

FORMER TEMASEK CREDIT SPECIALIST JOINS JUPITER AM

Jupiter Asset Management has hired Leon Wei, formerly of Temasek, as a credit analyst in its fixed income team.

Wei, who joins the fund house in London this week, brings Jupiter’s credit research team to a total of seven.

He will focus largely on developed markets across a range of different sectors, and will contribute ideas primarily to Jupiter’s unconstrained bond strategy, working closely with and reporting to the fund manager on the strategy, Ariel Bezalel, Jupiter said in a media statement. 

Wei was previously associate director responsible for credit analysis on high yield bonds and leveraged loans at Singaporean state investment firm Temasek. He was based in London for this role as well.

Temasek did not respond to AsianInvestor queries on whether a replacement for Wei had been named.

Wel has also previously worked for JP Morgan Chase & Co.

ALLFUNDS BANK APPOINTS NEW ASIA REGIONAL MANAGER

Allfunds Bank has named Alexis Fosler (pictured, top) as its new regional manager for Asia effective immediately, while former head David Pérez de Albéniz relocates back to Allfunds Madrid to focus solely on his other role as chief transformation officer (CTO).

Fosler will work closely on the handover with de Albéniz, who was appointed CTO in the summer of 2017 in addition to his responsibilities in the region. 

Fosler reports to Gianluca Renzini, deputy general manager and chief commercial officer of Allfunds Bank.

Before joining Allfunds, Fosler was North Asia head for the Warranty Group, responsible for the China, Japan and Korean businesses. She has also worked for Northern Trust Hedge Fund Services, Omnium, a Citadel subsidiary, and Citi.

A spokeswoman for The Warranty Group, which provides underwriting, claims administration and marketing expertise to companies around the world, confirmed the departure but did not say whether a replacement had been named.

The group provides underwriting, claims administration, and marketing expertise to some of the world's biggest firms.

De Albéniz was was previously regional manager for the Middle East for Allfunds Bank. 

Allfunds Bank, a Europe-headquartered funds distribution platform for institutional investors, has more than €360 billion ($444 billion) assets under administration and offers more than 64,400 funds from over 1,200 fund managers.

DEUTSCHE’S APAC WEALTH HEAD TAKES ON ADDITIONAL ROLE

Deutsche Bank has appointed Lok Yim as chief country officer (CCO) for Hong Kong, effective March 23.

Yim takes on the new position in addition to his role as head of wealth management for Asia Pacific.

He takes over from Peter Lo, who is retiring from Deutsche Bank after 15 years.

In his capacity as CCO for Hong Kong, Yim will report to Werner Steinmüller, the bank’s chief executive for Asia Pacific, while he continues to report to global head of wealth management Fabrizio Campelli in his capacity as head of wealth management for Asia Pacific.

Yim will be responsible for the management and governance of all the bank’s business and operations in Hong Kong.

MFS IM APPOINTS HEAD FOR SHANGHAI CONSULTING WFOE

MFS Investment Management (MFS IM) has appointed Chopin Zhou as director of business development and relationship management for China at its Shanghai subsidiary.

Zhou took up the new Shanghai-based role last month and is responsible for coordinating business development and client relationship management in China. He reports to Jonathan Tiu, Singapore-based head of distribution for MFS IM in Asia.

Before joining MFS, he served as deputy head of institutional and international business at SWS MU Fund Management, which did not reply to AsianInvestor’s queries about his departure.

MFS IM's China subsidiary, which was opened in August 2017, is a financial consulting wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE). Its primary function to service existing clients in China and build new relationships, particularly among public institutions and insurance firms, according to a MFS IM spokesman

Including Zhou, there are now three employees in the Shanghai office. The other two are Lesley Yu, director of relationship management for Greater China and Junya Li, relationship management associate for China.

BNP PARIBAS WM NAMES HEAD OF NRI CLIENTS

French wealth manager BNP Paribas Wealth Management has appointed Vikas Jaidka as head of non-resident Indian (NRI) clients.

He leads BNP Paribas’ NRI teams in Hong Kong and Singapore, as well overseeing the expansion of the wealth manager’s NRI franchise.

Jaidka started in early March and is based in Singapore. He reports to Samir Bimal, head of Indian markets. He replaces Masroor Batin, who is moving into a new role with BNP Paribas WM in the Middle East and Africa market. 

Jaidka was most recently vice president and area director for NRI business in Asia Pacific at Citi, according to his LinkedIn profile. Citi did not respond to queries on Jaidka’s exit date or his replacement.

VANGUARD NAMES HEAD OF GLOBAL CREDIT

US investment manager Vanguard has appointed Christopher Alwine as global head of credit.

Alwine will head up the active corporate bond portfolio management and the trading teams in the US, Europe, and Asia Pacific regions. He will also oversee the firm’s global taxable credit research team.

He will report to John Hollyer, global head of fixed income group, a Vanguard spokesman said, and he will be based in Malvern, Pennsylvania.

Alwine will be replacing Paul Jakubowski, who will become head of investments in Europe and global head of fixed income indexing. Jakubowski in turn is replacing Ken Volpert, who is retiring in August. Alwine, now Vanguard's head of municipal investment, will transition into his new role in the months leading up to Volpert’s retirement, the spokesman said.

He will be replaced as head of municipal investment by Paul Malloy, now head of fixed income in Europe.

WTW ADDS AUSTRALASIA TO ASIA CRB HEAD'S BRIEF

Willis Towers Watson has added responsibility for Australasia to the duties of Simon Weaver, its corporate risk and broking (CRB) head for Asia.

Singapore-based Weaver took over responsibility for operations in Australia and New Zealand (Australasia) on March 26. He continues to report to to Adam Garrard, London-based head of CRB international.

Weaver’s role in Australasia is a newly created one as part of a strategic business drive to position CRB as a global business, according to a company spokesman.

MITONOPTIMAL ASIA NAMES PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT HEAD

Singapore-based multi-asset investment manager MitonOptimal Asia has appointed Eric Mellor as managing director and head of portfolio management.

MitonOptimal Asia was granted a full capital markets licence in February by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, a MitonOptimal spokesman said, and Mellor started his role that same month. His duties include overseeing MitonOptimal Asia’s discretionary portfolio and investment management services.

He reports to Cape Town-based Scott Campbell, group chief executive, the spokesman added.

Most recently, Mellor was Asia Pacific partnership director for Swiss wealth platform provider Avaloq.

Avaloq did not respond to queries on Mellor’s exit date or his replacement.

Other people news reported by AsianInvestor this week:

Asia's largest asset manager loses global business head