Weekly roundup of people news, Oct 13
BLACKSTONE NAMES APAC HEAD OF PRIVATE WEALTH SOLUTIONS
Blackstone has appointed Ed Huang as head of private wealth solutions, APAC.
Huang was previously chief operating officer of Blackstone Private Equity Asia. He is based in Hong Kong.
Blackstone did not respond to an AsianInvestor query on who was in the role before Huang.
Herbert Suen, who was in the role previously, was named head of Southeast Asia, private wealth solutions.
Haide Hong will take over Huang’s previous role and has been named head of acquisitions, China.
Hong, a 10-year veteran of Blackstone, returned to the region from London two years ago and will lead investment efforts in Shanghai.
He was previously senior managing director in the private equity group.
Huang will report to Joan Solotar, global head of private wealth solutions, while Hong will report to Amit Dixit, head of private equity Asia.
Finally, Manali Parekh was appointed chief operating officer, private wealth solutions Asia.
The appointments take effect on January 1.
Blackstone is the world’s largest alternative assets manager, with $1 trillion in assets under management.
This news brief has been updated with new information.
ABRDN’S FI CHIEF IN HK DEPARTS, MANAGER JOINS IN SINGAPORE
Mark Baker, head of fixed income in Hong Kong, at abrdn, has left the the company, AsianInvestor understands.
AsianInvestor was unable to ascertain if a replacement has been named.
Baker had been with the group since July 2012, formerly called Standard Life Aberdeen, which was formed after the merger of Standard Life and Aberdeen Asset Management in 2017.
He has previously worked with Threadneedle Investments in the UK.
Separately, Wai-Kiat Soh joined the Asia fixed income team based in Singapore as investment manager in July.
He reports to Kenneth Akintewe, head of Asia sovereign debt, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor. It is not clear if the hire is an expansion of the team or a replacement.
MATTHEWS ASIA APPOINTS SEAN TAYLOR AS CIO
Sean Taylor will join Matthews Asia as chief investment officer (CIO) on January 1, 2024.
Taylor, who will lead the firm’s San Francisco- and Hong Kong-based investment teams, will report to Matthews CEO Cooper Abbott.
Matthews Asia's current CIO and portfolio manager Robert Horrocks will step back from his current leadership responsibilitiesand after a transition period, Horrocks will step down from his CIO role at the end of 2023.
He will remain as portfolio manager on the Matthews Asian Growth and Income, Matthews Asia Dividend and Matthews Asia ex Japan Total Return Equity strategies, in addition to working closely with the firm’s global clients.
Taylor joins Matthews from DWS Group, where he was most recently CIO for Asia Pacific and head of emerging markets until the end of June, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
AsianInvestor reported on his departure in July.
There will be no replacement for his role and Taylor’s APAC CIO responsibilities will be covered by global CIO Bjoern Jesch, the spokesperson said.
FUTURE FUND APPOINTS ADDITIONAL DEPUTY CIO
Future Fund appointed two deputy chief investment officers to strengthen its investment capabilities.
Hugh Murray was named as one of the deputy chief Investment officers. He will oversee dynamic asset allocation; strategic opportunities and integration; overlays and treasury, and economics and capital markets.
Murray was previously head of overlays and has been acting as the deputy chief investment officer since Ben Samild's appointment as CIO in August.
Alicia Gregory will continue her role as deputy chief Investment officer and will now also oversee the alternatives and listed equities teams, in addition to credit and private equity.
Gregory will be responsible for a new position called head of tangibles, which will include infrastructure and timberland, and property and listed tangibles teams.
Peter Costello, the head of $131 billion (A$206 billion) Australia's sovereign wealth fund, has said that he will not be seeking a third term. A formal recruitment process has begun to find a successor.
Costello, who has been the Future Fund's chair since 2014 and was re-appointed in 2019 for another five years, will conclude his current term in February 2024.
Costello played a key role in establishing the Future Fund in 2006 while serving as Australia’s federal treasurer.
In fiscal year 2023, the fund achieved a 6% return, falling short of its 10% target.
In comparison, AustralianSuper and Australian Retirement Trust, both of similar size, achieved returns of 8.2% and 10% respectively during the same period.
MFS IM HIRES RELATIONSHIP DIRECTOR FOR INSTITUTIONAL SALES
MFS Investment Management has appointed Jiaru Hsieh as relationship director for institutional sales, Hong Kong.
Hsieh will be responsible for promoting MFS’ range of fixed income and equity capabilities to major institutional investors in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Hsieh replaces Lily Cheung, the previous Hong Kong director of relationship management and sales at MFS, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Cheung stepped down at the end of April, the spokesperson added.
She will report to Sally Choo, managing director, Asia ex-Japan, while working closely with the wider Asian sales team.
Based in Hong Kong, she joins from Fidelity International, where she served as associate director, consultant relations for Asia ex-Japan.
She has previously worked with Capital Group and BlackRock.
Fidelity did not respond to an AsianInvestor enquiry on whether a replacement had been named for Hsieh.
MFS holds approximately $28 billion in institutional client assets across the region.
T. ROWE PRICE APPOINTS NEW SEA DISTRIBUTION HEAD
T. Rowe Price has appointed Nicholas Tong as head of Southeast Asia intermediary distribution, effective October 9.
Based in Singapore, Tong reports to Glen Lee, head of intermediary distribution, Asia ex-Japan.
Tong’s new role was last held by Gerald Koh, as spokesperson told AsianInvestor. Koh joined Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM) in August as head of wholesale Asia ex-Japan.
Tong joins from Wellington Management, where he was a vice president responsible for developing business with strategic private and retail banking clients in Singapore.
Tong was an account manager with Wellington Management’s Singapore retail intermediary business until September 2023, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
His responsibilities are currently covered by other members of the firm’s client group team in Asia Pacfic, until the role is replaced, the spokesperson added.
Previously, Tong also held distribution roles at UBS Asset Management, PIMCO, and M&G Investments.
KENNY LAM REJOINS MANULIFE IM AS CIO FOR APAC REAL ESTATE
Manulife Investment Management (Manulife IM) has appointed Kenny Lam as chief investment officer and head of transactions, Asia Pacific real estate, effective October 4.
Lam reports to Marc Feliciano, global head of real estate, private markets.
Lam had held the same title before he departed in 2022, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Before Kenny rejoined Manulife IM, the responsibilities of his old role were shared by the Asia-Pacific real estate team, the spokesperson added.
Lam first joined Manulife IM in 2017 as head of Asia real estate investments, after which he took on the role of CIO, strategic investment at real estate investment trust Link REIT in 2022. Lam worked at Link until the end of September, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Link CEO George Hongchoy has assumed the interim leadership role within the strategic investment team, the spokesperson added.
RAFFLES FAMILY OFFICE EXPANDS GREATER CHINA TEAM
Raffles Family Office has appointed Kevin King as managing director, head of Greater China.
This is a newly created role, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Based in Hong Kong, he will report to Chi-man Kwan, group CEO and founder of Raffles Family Office.
King was previously market head for China at Deutsche Bank International Private Bank.
He has also previously worked at BNP Paribas’s wealth management division and Citi Private Bank.
DWS APPOINTS JAPAN REAL ESTATE HEAD
DWS has named Koichiro Obu as head of Japan real estate in addition to his current role as head of real estate research in Asia Pacific.
Obu replaces Takashi Naito, who has left to pursue other external opportunities.
In this expanded capacity, Obu will report to Singapore-based Christopher Kimm, head of real estate in Asia Pacific, whilst maintaining his existing reporting line to London-based Simon Wallace, global co-head of real estate research, EMEA and Asia Pacific.
Obu will also maintain his long-standing position on the DWS Asia Pacific real estate senior management team and remains a key member of the DWS Asia Pacific real estate investment committee.
Obu joined DWS in 2007. Obu was previously head of real estate and construction within corporate research at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation in Tokyo, and also senior research analyst in London.