Weekly roundup of people news, Oct 25
FWD RINGS CHANGES AT THE TOP
FWD Group has appointed Jon Nielsen as group chief financial officer, effectively immediately. The Hong Kong-headquartered insurer has also named Peter Grimes as country chief executive officer for the life insurer’s businesses in Thailand, effective beginning of January next year.
Nielsen joined from AIA Group as group chief risk officer. Based in Hong Kong, Nielsen reports to Thanh-Phong Huynh, group chief executive officer.
He has succeeded Craig Merdian, who has taken on a new role within FWD’s group of businesses, but the insurer’s spokesman declined to comment on Merdian’s official title, or where he will be based.
Grimes, currently chief executive for FWD Life Philippines, will relocate from Manila to Thailand next year. He will be reporting to Huynh in his new role.
The spokesman said Grimes’s role is newly created following FWD Group’s acquisition of SCB Life. David Korunić, chief executive of SCB Life, and Poramasiri Manolamai, chief executive of FWD Life Thailand, will both report directly to Grimes.
Li-Hao Zhuang, currently group head of agency distribution, will succeed Grimes’s previous role, effective January 1, and subject to regulatory approval.
He is based in Singapore, and will relocate to Manila for the role. He will continue to report to Binayak Dutta, group chief distribution officer. While Zhuang will remain as group head of agency distribution until next year, the spokesman declined to comment on whether the insurer will identify a replacement for the role.
GIC APPOINTS FORMER GSAM VETERAN AS SVP
Owi Ruivivar, a former veteran at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, has joined Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC.
It is understood she joined GIC as senior vice president in September and will oversees long-term macroeconomic strategy for the fund. The fund declined to comment.
She was most recently senior portfolio manager for emerging markets fixed income at Goldman Sachs AM, a position she left in June. She has been with the asset manager for 17 years.
GIC and Goldman Sachs AM did not respond to questions about Ruivivar's move, or her replacement.
MATTHEWS ASIA INDIA FUND HEAD EXITS
The lead manager of Matthew Asia’s Matthews India Fund, Sunil Asnani, left on October 8. He was based in San Francisco, the firm’s spokeswoman told AsianInvestor.
Peeyush Mittal, portfolio manager, will now head the strategy, she said. Mittal first joined the firm in 2015.
BANK OF SINGAPORE DPM HEAD LEAVES TO HEAD NEW FUND HOUSE
Anson Sng, previously head of discretionary portfolio management at Bank of Singapore, this month became chief executive and chief investment officer of newly established independent firm Raintree Asset Management.
Singapore-based Raintree AM was incorporated in May and it deals primarily with global multi-asset portfolios, Sng told AsianInvestor.
A company spokeswoman at Bank of Singapore said Sng's last day with the private bank was July 1. She declined to comment on who was taking care of his duties now.
HSBC REPORTEDLY SETTING UP AM BUSINESS IN MALAYSIA
HSBC is setting up an asset management business in Malaysia, according to a article by The Edge, citing an anonymous source.
The UK bank is in the midst of setting up the team and is looking to hire executives including a chief executive and chief investment officer.
An HSBC spokeswoman declined to comment.
APAC INTERMEDIARIES HEAD TO LEAVE M&G
William Tan, head of intermediary channels in Asia Pacific at M&G Investments, is reportedly leaving his position at the UK-based investment firm.
M&G declined to confirm or comment on Tan’s departure. Tan declined to comment on AsianInvestor’s inquiries sent via LinkedIn regarding his future plans.
Tan had joined M&G in April 2018 as Asia-Pacific head of intermediary channels, covering private banks, external asset managers and wealth managers. Prior to this he held senior sales roles at Capital Group and Franklin Templeton Investments.
RAFFLES FAMILY OFFICE ESTABLISHES CHINA JV
Raffles Family Office has established Raffles China Family Office, a joint venture with iFast China Holdings, on Friday (October 25).
The new family office will focus on ultra-high-net-worth individuals in China. Headquartered in Shanghai, the firm is planning to expand into Beijing, Chongqing, and Zhejiang, depending on business growth. A spokesman of Raffles Family Office did not respond to queries on the potential team size.
Hong Kong-based Raffles Family Office also operates in Singapore and Taipei, while iFast Corporation is based in Singapore.
DEUTSCHE WM NAMES EM HEAD OF GLOBAL PRODUCTS
Deutsche Bank Wealth Management has appointed Rajesh Mahadevan as head of global products and solutions (GPS) for emerging markets. This follows the promotion of his predecessor, Lavanya Chari, to global head of GPS in May.
Mahadevan will report to Chari and relocate from Dubai to Singapore to take up his new role in January. The company did not respond to queries as to whether Mahadevan was directly assuming all of Chari's responsibilities.
He is currently global South Asia group head of the Middle East for Deutsche Bank WM. His duties will be shared among the other group heads for the time being, said a company spokeswoman.
The company said it will announce further changes about who will succeed Mahadevan in his current role in due course, but did not confirm whether it will look for someone to fill the role.
VC FIRM 5i CAPITAL ADDS PRINCIPAL
Singapore-based 5i Capital, a new venture capital firm focused on cybersecurity investments, has hired Michael Liu as a principal to work on capital raising, valuation and deal structuring.
Liu started in new role on October 21, having previously been head of Asia Pacific at WorldRemit, a venture capital-owned financial technology company. He has also worked in investment banking, at groups such as Macquarie and UBS, the latter in roles such as head of capital management.
Set up in March last year, the firm plans to build out the team once it gets its first fund up and running, as it hopes to do within the next six months, chief executive and co-founder Trevor Chudleigh told AsianInvestor.
The next hire will be a Singapore-based investment analyst, he said, and it also expects to hire a marketing executive.
UK THINK TANK LAUNCHES SINGAPORE BRANCH
New City Initiative (NCI), a London-based boutique asset management think tank, has launched operations in Singapore
NCI Singapore has 11 founding members and is chaired by Timothy Hay, chief executive of Somerset Capital Management’s Singapore office. The company did not respond to a query about who would head the office and what would be the initial headcount.
The boutique firm represents independent, owner-managed firms in the debate over the future of financial regulation. Its European membership comprises 46 independent asset managers from the UK, France, Norway and Switzerland, managing about £500 billion ($643 billion).