AsianInvestor’s weekly roundup of job-hoppers, Mar 30
New CIO Li targets 50% AUM rise at BoCom International AM
BoCom International Asset Management appointed Richard Li as its chief investment officer earlier this month, replacing Jimmy Pang who left in February.
Li joined BoCom in 2008 and started the asset management business by launching a Hong Kong equity fund through private placement and a mutual fund – BoCom International Dragon Core Growth Fund.
Li was transferred to manage the company's propriety trading desk in December 2010 and handed the asset management division to Pang.
After Pang’s departure, Li was brought back to head a seven-strong team asset management team, including three portfolio managers, two analysts, one trader and one in charge of sales and marketing. He has just hired Han Tongli from Singapore to manage fixed income investments as one of the PMs above, and he is set to start on April 10.
Li started his investment career at Yinhua Fund Management Company in 2002, where he worked his way up from analyst to portfolio manager of an equity fund and a money market fund.
Counting an RMB fixed income private placement fund, BoCom International AM manages three funds with total AUM of HK$200 million ($25.8 million).
Li says he aims to “improve the performance and increase the AUM by 50% this year through new product launches and growing existing funds”.
Ex-Bahrain sovereign wealth fund CEO joins PineBridge
PineBridge Investments announced the appointment of Talal Al Zain from Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat as CEO of its Middle East and North Africa (Mena) operations.
This move marks the launch of PineBridge’s full service operations in Mena, which will see the establishment of a new regional headquarters.
Al Zain, who had been chief executive of Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company from 2008 to 2012, is tasked with expanding the business, building on the firm’s existing capabilities in Istanbul and distribution office in Dubai.
He will also serve on PineBridge’s executive committee and be co-head of alternative investments, assuming joint responsibility for the firm’s private equity, hedge fund and other alternative investment businesses globally along with Hans Danielsson, head of investments.
PineBridge Investments managed $67.3 billion in assets globally as at December 31 for institutional and individual clients across listed equity, fixed income, private equity and hedge fund strategies.
Robeco hires Dennis from Aberdeen AM to run new Sydney office
Netherlands-based asset manager Robeco announced it had opened an office in Sydney led by Stephen Dennis, the former head of institutional business at Aberdeen Asset Management in Australia.
The firm says it will focus on institutional sales to Australia’s domestic asset management industry, but stresses this is not a standalone initiative, rather part of Robeco’s broader Asia-Pacific strategy. It will leverage sales and operational support from its Hong Kong office.
Dennis will head a two-member team, with the second hire yet to be announced. He reports to Robeco’s Asia-Pacific chief executive Tony Edwards, who joined from Neuberger Berman last year in an expanded role.
Prior to working at Aberdeen Asset Management, Dennis was head of institutional sales at Deutsche Asset Management in Australia.
Robeco, which is part of Rabobank Group, already has offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul and Mumbai. It focuses on institutional clients and distribution platforms in Japan and Korea, while in India it has investment management activities in Indian equities and fixed income as well as local distribution to retail and institutional clients through its JV with Canara Bank.
At the end of May, Robeco had around €150 billion ($200 billion) in AUM globally as at December 31, less than 5% of which is sourced from Asia-Pacific.
AMP Capital scales up global listed real estate, infrastructure team
AMP Capital moved to deliver global portfolio management in-house and announced the appointment of several portfolio managers/ analysts.
It comes after the firm opted to end its joint-venture AMP Capital Brookfield, with all real estate investment professionals based in Sydney, Hong Kong and London remaining with AMP Capital.
Among the new additions, Matthew Hoult was appointed head of global listed real estate based in Sydney. He was formerly BNP Paribas Investment Partners’ CIO for global property.
Also, a team of listed real estate professionals based in Chicago has been appointed to cover the Americas, led by Joseph Pavnica, also formerly from BNP Paribas Investment Partners.
Further, Robert Thomas, Matthew Hodgkins and Dominic Cappellania were appointed portfolio managers/analysts, bringing to 15 the number of listed real estate professionals.
And Tim Humphreys will become head of global listed infrastructure and assume portfolio management responsibility for AMP Capital’s global listed infrastructure strategies, backed by four analysts in Sydney and London. Additions were Kevin Scutt and Giuseppe Corona.
“AMP Capital now has the investment capability to deliver full global portfolio management of listed real estate and infrastructure to our clients and partners,” says AMP Capital CIO David Kiddie. “We continue to see increased demand for global listed real estate and infrastructure domestically and internationally.”
The firm’s global listed real estate and infrastructure team manages more than A$5.5 billion for its clients.
Hedge fund RG Investment Capital adds new COO
Asia-focused hedge fund RG Investment Capital announced it had added Anthony Gaughan as a partner and chief operating officer to manage all its non-investment activity.
RG Investment Capital is a new London-based fund founded by former Credit Suisse traders Carlo Ramirez and Olivier Garcia.
It is set to launch the RG Asia Fund in the second quarter of this year, a long/short approach that uses derivatives within a quantitative portfolio construction and risk management framework.
“They [RG Investment] have a desire to build a business with an institutional framework and I’m very pleased to be joining the firm at this exciting time,” says Gaughan.
Previously Gaughan co-founded the Episode macro hedge fund business at M&G Investments. Ramirez was formerly MD and head of equity/equity derivative trading at Credit Suisse in Tokyo, while Garcia was previously head of Asia-Pacific exotic trading at CS also in Tokyo.
Other people-move stories reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:
F&C Asset Management returns to Chua for Asia build-out
Vanguard targets institutional build-out in HK, Asia
Citi Private Bank fills hole after India head skips to KKR
Matchpoint COO exits, succeeded by CFO
First Asia credit head hints at Ashmore's regional aspirations