Weekly roundup of people news, May 25
MANULIFE CHINA JV CEO JOINS HSBC
HSBC hired former chief executive officer and general manager of Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Company Zhang Kai as head of wealth and personal banking, South Asia, effective June 26.
Based in Singapore, Zhang will be responsible for accelerating wealth and personal banking’s business expansion in South Asia across transactional banking and wealth, private banking, insurance and asset management, the bank said in an announcement on May 23.
Zhang will report to Nuno Matos, CEO, wealth and personal banking, and Surendra Rosha, co-CEO, Asia Pacific.
Zhang joins HSBC from Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance Company where she has served as CEO and general manager since 2016.
Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance is a Sino-foreign joint venture life insurance company. Headquartered in Shanghai, it is jointly established by Manulife Financial and Sinopec Finance in November 1996. Manulife holds 51% stakes.
Manulife-Sinochem didn't respond to AsianInvestor's requests for comment as of publication.
Zhang has over 25 years of financial services experience in North America and Asia where she has held leadership roles at Citigroup and McKinsey & Company.
AUSTRALIANSUPER ADDS TO EQUITIES TEAM
AustralianSuper has added Megan Talmage to its equities team as portfolio manager of portfolio construction and strategy. She will be based in Melbourne.
Talmage was a co-founder, executive director, and portfolio manager at Blue Orbit Asset Management, which is in the midst of shutting its business.
For five years, Talmage ran portfolio construction and implementation, research, trade execution and analysis for the Blue Orbit Australian small cap systematic equities fund and the Blue Orbit Global small cap systematic equities fund.
The Melbourne-based boutique small-cap fund manager was formed in 2018 by Talmage and two colleagues from IFM Investors, Adam Randall and Julie Andrews.
While Talmage was with IFM investors she was a portfolio manager of global quantitative equities strategies.
MORGAN STANLEY IM APPOINTS FIRST ASIA HEAD
Morgan Stanley Investment Management named Michael Levin as its first Asia head, to oversee the firm’s Asia investment management business.
In the newly created role as head of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Asia, Levin will head the regional business with a focus on new market and product opportunities.
He will be based in Hong Kong and start the role in July, the firm told AsianInvestor, without disclosing his reporting line.
Levin has over 25 years of asset management experience. He was most recently managing director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, based in New York. Previously, he spent a decade with Credit Suisse in various senior roles including head of asset management for both Asia Pacific and the Americas.
SUN HUNG KAI & CO HIRES MANAGING DIRECTOR FROM MIRAE ASSET
Sun Hung Kai & Co on May 22 announced that it appointed Gary Chan in April as managing director, investment management, leading the private equity team to enhance investment capabilities.
In the newly created role, Chan reports to Lee Seng Huang, the group executive chairman. He is based in Hong Kong, the firm told AsianInvestor.
Prior to joining Sun Hung Kai & Co, Chan led the investments and banking team at Mirae Asset Securities (HK) across sectors including healthcare, technology, new energy, new consumer and real estate. He previously held senior roles at Barclays, Macquarie and ICBC International.
FORESTERS FINANCIAL APPOINTS NEW CIO
Foresters Financial has appointed Michael McQueen as its new chief investment officer. He will be based in Melbourne.
McQueen brings 15 years' experience in financial services to the new role, including extensive experience in super fund mergers, most recently that of Media Super and Cbus.
He served as Media Super's chief investment officer for just over two years and, and has been working as a consultant since the completion of the super fund’s merger at the end of April 2022.
Prior to Media Super, McQueen served as head of investment strategy at LUCRF Super, which since merged with AustralianSuper. He also held senior investment roles with Kinetic Super before its merger with Sunsuper back in 2019.
MATTHEWS ASIA HIRES NEW APAC HEAD
Investment management firm Matthews Asia has appointed Beonca Yip as head of Asia Pacific, effective May 2. She will report to Neil Steedman, head of international distribution, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Based in Hong Kong, Yip will be responsible for overseeing the firm’s business in the Asia Pacific region as well as leading its distribution activities, with a new, particular focus on the firm’s growing institutional business compared to her predecessor Hur-Ming Wong, the spokesperson added.
Wong left the firm in October 2022 and joined Virtus Investment Partners in Singapore as managing director and head of Asia business development in January.
Before joining Matthews Asia, Yip most recently led the distribution and client service teams at China Asset Management where she was managing director and head of global client group based in Beijing. China Asset Management did not respond to AsianInvestor’s inquiries regarding when Yip left the firm and who has taken over her responsibilities.
Yip previously held senior roles that included head of advisor business at Asia at Investec Asset Management and head of retail sales in Asia and Europe for Eastspring Investments.
HKEX NAMES HEAD OF DIGITAL ASSETS
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) appointed Andrew Loong as managing director and head of digital assets.
In his role, Loong will oversee the development of the digital assets ecosystem in HKEX’s markets, including digital product offerings and building robust digital infrastructure.
Loong reports to HKEX group head of emerging business & fixed income and currency, Glenda So. He joined in May and is based in Hong Kong, HKEX told AsianInvestor.
Loong succeeds Andrew Walton who leaves HKEX in July. Walton joined HKEX in July 2022 as managing director and head of digital assets, markets from Hong Kong-based digital asset platform OSL Digital Securities.
For nearly two decades, Loong has worked in a number of banks and financial institutions, with experience in the digital assets and fixed income market space. He was the head of security token offering structuring at BC Technology Group and most recently oversaw digital asset product and operation development at a Singapore-based digital family office.
LINKLATERS HIRES JAPAN PARTNER
Law firm Linklaters has added Yoshiyuki Asaoka as a partner in the firm’s Japan corporate practice.
Based in Tokyo, Asaoka's practice covers a range of corporate matters, including inbound and outbound M&A, other strategic transactions, corporate governance, and corporate litigation.
While he has worked across many industry sectors, Asaoka focuses on private equity, financial services and technology, media and telecommunications.
Asaoka is qualified in Japanese law, and he was most recently at Nishimura & Asahi where he joined in 2012 and became partner in 2018, a spokesperson confirmed to AsianInvestor, declining to comment on when Asaoka left the firm or who had taken over his responsibilities.
"We would like to thank Yoshiyuki for his valuable contributions to Nishimura & Asahi, especially in the field of M&A. While he will be very much missed, we wish him all the best at his new firm," Ryutaro Nakayama, managing partner at Nishimura & Asahi, said in a statement shared with AsianInvestor.
Asaoka started his career with six years at Miyakezaka Sogo Law Offices, according to his profile presentation now removed from the Nishimura & Asahi website.
NINETY ONE’S GLOBAL EQUITY STRATEGY GETS CO-PORTFOLIO MANAGER
Dan Hanbury has been appointed co-portfolio manager of the global strategic equity strategy at Ninety One, alongside Mark Breedon and Rhynhardt Roodt as of May 2.
Hanbury joined Ninety One’s 4factor team in September 2022, from River & Mercantile Asset Management. Hanbury has previously worked with Ninety One between 2000 and 2006.
The global strategic equity strategy manages global, Asian, emerging market and European equity strategies for institutional and advisory clients.
He will be based in London.