Weekly roundup of people news, Sept 30
SAUDI PUBLIC INVESTMENT FUND HIRES LAZARD AM'S MENA HEAD
Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) has hired Fadi Al Said from Lazard Asset Management as an investment manager for Midde East and North Africa (Mena) equities, a well-placed source told AsianInvestor.
Al Said joined PIF this month, according to his LinkedIn page. The sovereign wealth fund aims to have $400 billion in assets under management by the end of this year.
PIF did not respond to a request for comment sent via an enquiry form on its website, and Al Said did not respond to a request for comment sent via LinkedIn.
He was previously a fund manager and the head of Mena at Lazard AM in Dubai for six years, before which he worked at ING Investment Management.
Lazard AM said in a statement: "Fadi leaves behind a strong and experienced portfolio management team, having all worked together for over 12 years, with Walid Mourad becoming lead manager on the Mena strategy."
British alternative investment firm Man GLG has hired three analysts to help run the Asia ex-Japan long-only strategy it is launching: Anand Agarwal and Alethea Leung in Hong Kong and Andrew Hill in Sydney.
A spokeswoman said the trio would support Andrew Swan, who joined in August as head of Asia ex-Japan equities from US funds giant BlackRock, where Anand and Leung also worked previously. She declined to confirm whether they would report to Swan.
Hill, who started in August at Man GLG, was previously a equities manager at Australian superannuation fund UniSuper, with a primary focus on banks and health care. He left the role in July, a spokeswoman said, and the firm has not yet decided whether it will replace him. Before joining UniSuper, he had co-led Asia financials research at Bank of America.
Agarwal was formerly a director on BlackRock’s fundamental active Asian and emerging markets team, focused on India market research. Previously, he was an analyst at both Jefferies and Credit Suisse, both in India. He started his career as a research analyst at Edelweiss Securities in 2004.
Leung was formerly an analyst and portfolio manager for Southeast Asian and Asia Pacific strategies at BlackRock, where she had worked for 13 years.
A spokeswoman for BlackRock declined to comment on the two latest departures beyond noting that the firm had hired Nicholas Chui from Aberdeen Standard Investments as director of global emerging markets. He joined earlier this month.
This story has been updated to indicate that Andrew Hill is based in Sydney rather than Hong Kong.
MARSHALL WACE TO OPEN SINGAPORE OFFICE
British hedge fund manager Marshall Wace is opening an office in Singapore to add to its presence in Hong Kong and Shanghai and has appointed Timothy Quah to head the new branch. Previously an investment analyst with the firm in Hong Kong, he is now Singapore chief executive.
Marshall Wace, which has $48 billion under management, recently received a fund management licence in Singapore, but declined to confirm the date it received the approval.
A spokeswoman confirmed the accuracy of a Financial Times story reporting that the new branch was being set up to target asset raising and that the firm would hire portfolio managers there.
Some hedge fund managers have reportedly been exploring moving operations out of Hong Kong amid the ongoing political turmoil in the territory following Beijing’s imposition of a controversial national security law this year.
Similarly, wealthy individual investors and family offices have been moving money out of Hong Kong in recent months amid concerns over growing Chinese encroachment on the city.
BAILLIE GIFFORD EXPANDING SHANGHAI HEADCOUNT, WINS PFM LICENCE
Baillie Gifford has officially opened its Shanghai office after receiving its China private fund management licence (PFM) on September 1, having set up the branch late last year.
The British fund house is recruiting locally for roles in operations, investment research, trading, compliance, business development and marketing, a spokeswoman told AsianInvestor. It has not yet launched a fund for Chinese investors but is planning a new product that will target the A-share market, she added.
The PFM licence enables Baillie Gifford to manage and sell funds investing in onshore assets to domestic qualified investors, which include institutional and wealthy clients.
Baillie Gifford already has four senior staff in Shanghai: Amy Wang, head of China; John MacDougall, chairman and chief strategy officer for the China business, and investment manager; Linda Lin, head of China investment research; and investment manager Rio Tu.
Wang joined in September last year and soon after that MacDougall relocated to Shanghai from the firm's Edinburgh headquarters, as AsianInvestor exclusively reported in November last year. Lin and Tu moved from Scotland to Shanghai around the same time as MacDougall.
MarketAxess, the operator of an electronic fixed income trading platform, has appointed Riad Chowdhury as head of Asia Pacific, effective September 23.
Based in Singapore, Chowdhury reports to Christophe Roupie, London-based head of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. He is responsible for all business operations for MarketAxess in the region, including the firm’s relationships with institutional investors and dealers.
This is a newly created role in response to the increased demand for electronic fixed income trading in Asia, a company spokesman said.
Chowdhury was most recently Asia head of global execution services at Standard Chartered Bank. Standard Chartered did not respond to emailed questions from AsianInvestor about Chowdhury's move.
UTMOST INTERNATIONAL NAMES SINGAPORE CEO
Life assurance group Utmost International has appointed Cherie Tan as chief executive of Singapore and Asia head of sales. She will focus on developing wealth solutions for the Asian high-net-worth market.
She reports to London-based global head of sales Stephen Atkinson and to the executive team in Utmost Worldwide's head office in Guernsey in the UK, a company spokesman said.
The Asia head of sales remit is a newly created role to harness the firm's enhanced resources. Tan is replacing Malcolm Humphryes, who will stay with Utmost International to facilitate a smooth handover, the spokesman added.
Tan joins from Swiss wealth solutions provider Lombard International, where she was responsible for sales and marketing of insurance wealth structuring solutions for wealthy clients in the Asian region. She had worked in both Hong Kong and Singapore, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Lombard International could not be reached for comment.
FRS APPOINTS NEW COUNTRY MANAGER FOR AUSTRALIA
Financial Risk Solutions (FRS), a investment administration software provider headquartered in Ireland, has named Terry Kyle as country manager for Australia, effective September 21.
A spokeswoman from FRS told AsianInvestor that this is a newly created role for the growth and strong market need in the region.
Based in Melbourne, Kyle reports to Asia-based Matthew Baldwin, global head of sales and managing director. Baldwin looked after Austalian business before Terry joined.
Kyle joined FRS from Fenergo as professional services delivery director for Asia Pacific. He has also worked for firms including Mercer, Macquarie, Credit Suisse and Axa Financial.
CHARLES LI TO STEP DOWN AS HKEX CEO
Charles Li will step down as chief executive of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX) on December 31.
Li’s current contract ends in October. He originally intended not to seek reappointment and to retire early from the role, but has agreed to remain on the job until end of this year. He will take up the role of senior adviser to the board for six months to ensure a smooth transition, according to an HKEX statement.
Calvin Tai will become interim CEO of the HKEX on January 1. Tai is currently co-president and chief operating officer of the exchange and will continue in these roles alongside his appointment as CEO.
A selection committee led by HKEX chairwoman, Laura Cha has been formed to conduct a formal search process for a new CEO. An announcement will be made in due course.