Weekly roundup of people news, Sep 23
SUSAN BUCKLEY TO LEAVE QIC AFTER TWO DECADES
After more than 20 years with the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), Susan Buckley will step down as managing director of the liquid markets group
QIC's director of fixed income Beverley Morris has been appointed acting head of the liquid markets group. Buckley will coordinate with Morris on a thorough handover as she transitions out of the business.
Before joining QIC, Buckley previously held roles such as head of strategy and acting head of asset allocation at NRMA Asset Management, senior vice president and head of fixed interest at BT Funds Management, fixed interest strategist at Suncorp Investments and economist at National Australia Bank.
Morris joined QIC two decades ago from the Bank of England where she worked as an economist. Prior to that she was an economist at the Queensland Treasury.
HSBC ASSET MANAGEMENT NAMES SENIOR ROLES FOR INSTITUTIONAL AND PENSION BUSINESS
HSBC Asset Management has appointed Brenda Wong as head of institutional business, North Asia, and Jasmine Hung as head of pensions and retirement, Hong Kong, effective October 1, subject to regulatory approval, the firm announced on Friday (September 23).
Both Wong and Hung will be based in Hong Kong, reporting to Paul Griffiths, global head of institutional business and Daisy Ho, chief executive officer, Asia-Pacific and Hong Kong.
Wong, as the newly created head of institutional business, North Asia, will be responsible for spearheading the institutional sales team in North Asia with a focus on Hong Kong, mainland China, Taiwan, Korea and Japan. In addition to taking the lead in capturing opportunities and strengthening collaboration with multiple bank channels, she will also be responsible for the client servicing functions in Hong Kong.
Wong is currently head of Asia liquidity sales in HSBC Asset Management, a role she has been serving since July 2018, overseeing the liquidity business across Asia with a track record of expanding the Asia liquidity business.
Separately, Hung, as head of pensions and retirement, Hong Kong, another newly created role, will focus on the pensions and retirement segment in Hong Kong, specifically responsible for growing the Mandatory Provident Fund business in partnership with HSBC Trustees and HSBC Pensions. She will also be responsible for covering and developing local Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance Pension key clients.
A veteran in the asset management industry with over 18 years of experience, Hung joined HSBC Asset Management from Value Partners Group in 2017 and led the private bank sales team in Hong Kong with a remit to expand the business footprint with both HSBC Global Private Bank and external private banks.
HENRY CHUI JOINS PARTNERS GROUP IN SINGAPORE
The former head of private wealth at Nuveen, Henry Chui, has relocated from Hong Kong to Singapore to join private investments firm Partners Group.
AsianInvestor had previously broke the news that he was to leave Nuveen in September. Nuveen declined to comment at the time.
Chui has officially joined Partners Group as the head of private wealth in Asia Pacific as of September, a spokesperson confirmed with AsianInvestor.
He will report to Christian Wicklein, managing director and co-head of private wealth. He will be responsible for expanding the decade-old team across Asia Pacific, the spokesperson said, while declining to comment on how large the team is.
His key responsibilities include developing that private wealth strategy, deepening client relationships and broadening distribution reach, and building a localised team of client-facing professionals.
He replaces Victor Jung who left the firm in June after nearly a decade with the company. He is now the managing director and head of digital assets at Hamilton Lane while based in Switzerland.
HAMILTON LANE EXPANDS SG OFFICE, APPOINTS SEA HEAD
US-headquartered private markets investment firm Hamilton Lane has expanded its presence in Singapore and appointed Kerrine Koh from BlackRock to lead its first head of Southeast Asia.
Koh will be based in Singapore and joined the firm in August, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor. She reports to vice-chair and head of Asia Juan Delgado-Moreira.
The Singapore office has eight professionals employed, up from just two last year. It has further plans to hire more people “in various capacities in investment roles”, the spokesperson said without specifying how many.
Koh joins Hamilton Lane from BlackRock where she was the head of alternative distribution for Southeast Asia, where she was responsible for distribution strategy and client engagements on BlackRock’s alternative investment product suite, across client segments. She had been with BlackRock since 2010.
Before joining BlackRock, Kerrine was responsible for business and product development for alternative investments at UOB Asset Management and held credit analysis and strategic investment roles within United Overseas Bank.
ABRDN SENIOR ASIA EQUITY SPECIALIST BEN SHEEHAN DEPARTS
Ben Sheehan, abrdn’s senior investment specialist focusing on Asian equities, has left the firm this week after three years in the role, taking a break while looking for new opportunities, he announced on his LinkedIn.
Sheehan joined abrdn in February 2019 in Hong Kong for a newly created senior equity investment role, working with the company’s Asia Pacific equities and distribution teams to ensure investment knowledge transfer internally and externally, and help drive its commercial strategy. He relocated to Brisbane later in the role.
The firm said it is making an internal transfer from London with global emerging market and Asian equities experience to fill Sheehan’s position. It is also looking to add an additional headcount to the team, which will double the size of the equities investment specialist team in Asia, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.
Prior to abrdn, Sheehan worked at HSBC Asset Management for nearly 12 years in various positions, including senior product specialist for Asian equities and associate director for client services.
AMERICAN CENTURY BOLSTER APAC TEAM WITH SENIOR APPOINTMENTS
American Century Investments has made a number of senior appointments in the Asia-Pacific region with the aim of enhancing its growth in this key region.
Tom Clapham has been appointed head of APAC, following the retirement of Tony Archer, and will relocate to Sydney from Singapore.
Elizabeth Trinh, who was previously head of Australia and New Zealand for American Century Investments, has been appointed to the newly created role of head of Hong Kong and South East Asia.
In addition, Michelle Kidd, who has been in the role of vice president of American Century’s Institutional Advisory Group since 2018, has been appointed to head of Australian and New Zealand institutional business, while Alastair McKibbin will take on the newly created role of head of Australian wholesale business.
Clapham joins American Century after serving Aviva Investors as its head of Asia, Client Group, for the last five years. He has 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry, in Sydney, Singapore, Hong Kong and Beijing, holding positions with AXA Investment Managers, Macquarie Group and Deutsch Bank.
Trinh has been with American Century since 2010. Before that, she was
with Macquarie Group where she was an associate manager, and she has also worked as a tax consultant at KPMG. In the newly created role, she will now be responsible for further expanding the company’s actively managed investment capabilities in the southeast Asian markets.
Kidd has 15 years’ experience in the Australian institutional market, joining American Century from Affiliated Managers Group where she worked for seven years in senior distribution roles. She has also worked with Investors Mutual as manager, research and institutional business.
McKibbin has been with American Century Investments for over three years and will relocate to Sydney from New York where he was vice president, global strategic relationships, focusing on Latin America. He joined American Century from State Street Global Advisors where he was head of ETF Managed Portfolio Solutions for the US SPDR ETF Business.