Weekly roundup of people news, April 28
CPP INVESTMENTS' ASIA EQUITIES SPECIALIST DEPARTS
Hong Kong-based Kyu Ho and Nicholas Low have left the C$536 billion Canadian pension fund manager CPP Investments, AsianInvestor understands.
Ho has been with the Canadian fund for over seven years as a managing director and was responsible for blockchain and metaverse investments.
Low had been with the fund for almost 12 years, most recently as a portfolio manager of active equities in Asia.
CPP Investments did not respond to AsianInvestor's request for comment on the reasons for their departure or if they will be replaced.
The Canadian pension had about C$135 billion ($107 billion) in Asia Pacific across all asset classes, with about $44.8 billion in public equities as of December 2022.
ONTARIO TEACHERS’ CLOSES CHINA EQUITIES TEAM
Canada's third largest pension fund, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, has shuttered its China equity investment team based in Hong Kong, according to a Reuters report on April 25.
Hong Kong's Securities and Futures Commission website showed the licenses of five employees expired on April 18.
One of these employees is believed to be Stanley Ooi, who joined as senior managing director of equities just three months ago in February, according to LinkedIn.
Prior to his appointment at Ontario Teachers’, Ooi was a director at the China office of Khazanah Nasional Berhad, Malaysia’s sovereign wealth fund.
Ontario Teachers’ spokesperson Dan Madge confirmed to Reuters that the firm will no longer have a China focused stock-picking team based in Asia which has resulted in the departure of the five staff from the Hong Kong office.
"While this decision was not an easy one to make given the impact to our team, we feel it reflects the right model for our high conviction stock selection process going forward, with a centralised team based in Toronto pursuing investment opportunities in Asia as they do for other regions," said Madge.
Ontario Teachers did not respond to AsianInvestor queries on the team closure.
JPMAM HIRES FORMER FIDELITY RESEARCH EXPERT
Nitesh Kathuria joined J.P. Morgan Asset Managament in mid-April as a senior research analyst for global fixed income, currency and commodities (GFICC) group, AsianInvestor understands.
Based in Hong Kong, Kathuria will cover Asian corporates and banks. He will report to Abbas Ali, head of Asia corporate research for GFICC, AsianInvestor understands.
Priot to joining JPMAM, Kathuria was director of fixed income research at Fidelity International in Hong Kong. Kathuria left Fidelity in February 2023, and his responsibilities are being shared across the wider teams, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Kathuria worked at Fidelity in Hong Kong since 2008, according to his LinkedIn profile.
TEMASEK VICE CHAIRMAN TAPPED FOR MILKEN INSTITUTE
Robin Hu, Asia vice chairman of Singaporean investment firm Temasek, and Singapore’s non-resident ambassador to Timor Leste, has been tapped to take on the role of Chair Asia of the Milken Institute.
Hu will lead the operations of Milken Institute’s Singapore-based Asia headquarters with a focus on bolstering the Institute’s presence in Asia.
Laura Deal Lacey, who has been executive director of the Milken Institute Asia Center since its founding in 2013, will expand her responsibilities in a new role as executive director, global markets.
Lacey will continue to lead the Asia Center.
The Milken Institute is a think-tank that seeks to advance unconventional economic and policy solutions to support growth and solve global challenges.
M&G REAL ESTATE HIRES DEPUTY MANAGER FOR FLAGSHIP ASIA STRATEGY
M&G Real Estate has appointed Jason Leong as deputy fund manager of its flagship core Asia Pacific property strategy.
Based in Singapore, Leong reports to Richard van den Berg, manager of the strategy.
The role is newly created to support the strategy which has grown in size and complexity over the past 17 years, a spokesperson for M&G Real Estate told AsianInvestor.
Leong was previously with Investa in Sydney, where he was group executive and head of investment management, responsible for the group’s fund management, separate mandates and asset management businesses with assets under management of A$12 billion (about US$8 billion).
He has previously worked with LaSalle Investment Management and New City Corporation.
Investa did not respond at the time of publication to an AsianInvestor enquiry on who replaces Leong in his previous role.
JAPAN POST INSURANCE GETS NEW PRESIDENT
Japan Post Insurance has appointed Japan Post Bank executive vice president Kunio Tanigaki as its next president.
Tanigaki will succeed Tetsuya Senda, who will take over the presidency of mail and parcel delivery company Japan Post from Kazuhide Kinugawa.
Both appointments will take effect in June.
Tanigaki has been executive vice president of Japan Post Bank since November 2021, and has previously held other executive roles at Japan Post Holdings and Japan Post Insurance.
Senda and Kinugawa took on their respective roles following the resignation of their predecessors after taking responsibility for improper sales of life insurance products that came to light in 2019.
The group will carry out leadership changes after completing most of the reforms of its corporate culture, launched in response to the scandal.
ALLIANZ GI HIRES FROM GOLDMAN SACHS AM
Allianz Global Investors has appointed Shao Ping Guan as its head of China equity with effect from July 1.
Based in Hong Kong, Guan will report to Raymond Chan, chief investment officer of equity in Asia Pacific.
He will lead a total team of 12 China equity portfolio managers and analysts, with plans to expand the team further.
Guan joins Allianz GI from Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM), where he has been since 2007, leading their China equity team since 2017.
Nathan Lin and Christine Pu have become co-heads of China equity at GSAM, assuming Shao Ping’s portfolio management responsibilities, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Guan has also previously worked wiht UBS Asset Management, Credit Agricole Asset Management, AXA Asset Management and OUB Asset Management.
In a related development, Anthony Wong, senior portfolio manager, will be leaving Allianz GI on June 30 to pursue interests outside the firm.
Guan will become sole lead portfolio manager for Allianz GI’s China-A strategies, which are currently managed by Wong, and will be supported by Kevin You as deputy portfolio manager.
TSANGS GROUP APPOINTS NORTH AMERICA DIRECTOR
Tsangs Group has appointed Christopher Myers as director focusing on North American opportunities.
Based in the US, Myers is expected to help the Hong Kong family office build its presence in North America. He will report to Patrick Tsang, chairman of Tsangs Group.
Myers is chief executive officer of B-Side Capital, which is a small business administration lender.
He will continue in that role as it will help Tsangs Group expand its global reach more effectively, a spokesperson for the family office said.
Myers has worked in various locations in the US, including Denver, Colorado and Lehi, Utah.
Over the past 18 months, Tsangs Group has also opened offices in Singapore and Dubai.
NEW FOREST EXPANDS AFRICA TEAM
New Forests has hired of Eva Warigia as associate director, investor relations for Africa.
She is the fifth recent hire to bolster the firm’s Kenya-based team
Warigia will be responsible for investor relationships focusing on New Forests’ African Forestry Impact Platform (AFIP), which aims to raise up to $500 million over the next two to three years to help scale sustainable forestry in Sub-Saharan Africa.
She joins from the East Africa Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (EAVCA) where she spent six years, most recently as its chief executive officer responsible for supporting business and capital flows into East Africa.
Warigia’s appointment follow recent hires to the Kenya-based team including: Kuda Phairah who was named as associate director, operations in November 2022; Moses Kimani, associate director, of investments who was hired in August 2022; Stephanie Bishop, associate director, environmental and social who joined in July 2022; and, Sean Lloyd, manager, operations who relocated to Kenya in January 2023 after spending four years working in New Forests’ Singapore team.
All new hires will report to Paul Ohaga, senior director, New Forests Africa.
Jacklyne Iminza, current head of operations for EAVCA, has assumed interim executive leadership of the association as the board seeks to fill the CEO role following Warigia’s departure.
BROWN ADVISORY OPENS TOKYO OFFICE
Investment management and strategic advisory firm Brown Advisory Brown Advisory has opened an office in Tokyo, effective April 25, to cater to Japanese institutional investors.
It has appointed Toshiyuki Murasawa as head of the Japan office. He joined the firm in the beginning of April in the newly established position, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Murasawa, who joins from Credit Suisse Asset Management, will report to Walter Beckett, head of Asia Pacific, who relocated to Singapore from London in 2019.
Credit Suisse did not respond to AsianInvestor’s inquiries about when Murasawa left the firm and whether he has been replaced.
Brown Advisory has already won equity mandates in Japan for its US Flexible Equity strategy, its US Large-Cap Sustainable Growth strategy, and its Global Leaders strategy for equities.
Having started working with clients in Japan in 2009, Brown Advisory currently partners with Japan’s Nissay Asset Management and Asset Management One on two of their equity strategies.