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Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 19

HSBC PB names global PWS head; BNY Mellon IM appoints China intermediaries head; Amundi poaches from Barings; Schroders hires SE Asia multi-asset head; Wellesley starts wealth practice and more.
Weekly roundup of people news, Jan 19

HSBC APPOINTS NEW GLOBAL HEAD OF PRIVATE WEALTH SOLUTIONS

HSBC Private Banking has appointed Alan Beattie (pictured) as global head of private wealth solutions (PWS), with effect from January 22, subject to regulatory approval.

Hong Kong-based Beattie will be responsible for managing PWS, HSBC’s private client trust and estate planning business, globally and will report to Peter Boyles, CEO of HSBC Private Banking.

He will replace Chris Marquis, who is leaving at the end of this month to pursue opportunities outside the bank, a spokeswoman for the private bank said. Marquis took over the role on January 1, 2015. He had previously been regional head of PWS.

Beattie has worked for HSBC before:  he was regional head of commercial banking for HSBC Latin America between May 2012 and February 2014, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He was most recently chief funding officer for Capital Pitch, an Australian firm that focuses on advising start-ups and helping them raise funds. Capital Pitch did not respond to AsianInvestor's queries on his replacement by presstime.

BNY MELLON IM APPOINTS CHINA HEAD OF INTERMEDIARY DISTRIBUTION

BNY Mellon Investment Management has appointed Phoebe Ao Ieong as Hong Kong-based head of intermediary distribution for Greater China.

Ao Ieong took up the role on January 2 and she reports to Nicolas Kopitsis, Singapore-based head of intermediary distribution for Asia Pacific ex Japan. She is responsible for growing and strengthening BNY Mellon’s relationships with third party distributors and private banks in Greater China.

She replaced Chris Tse, who left the US investment manager in August 2017, according to a company spokeswoman. Tse in September became Asia Pacific for Nasdaq Indexes.

Previously, Ao Ieong was the head of private bank and retail bank distribution at Income Partners. The Asian fixed income manager based in Hong Kong has made a series of changes in its management following a strategic investment from venture capital fund Sequoia China.

An Income Partners spokesman confirmed that she left the company in early December. He said that a new senior sales person would join the team shortly, without further elaboration.

BNY Mellon IM had $1.8 trillion of assets under management as at September 30, 2017.

AMUNDI POACHES SALESWOMAN FROM BARINGS

French fund house Amundi has hired Gloria Yu (pictured) from rival Baring Asset Management as senior manager for Hong Kong and China fund distribution, AsianInvestor can reveal. 

She is understood to have started at Amundi this month to replace Holly Ho, who left in November to join JP Morgan Asset Management.

Yu reports to Ken Yiu, Amundi’s head of fund distribution for Hong Kong and China, a source told AsianInvestor. She had spent three years at Barings on the business development team, and has also worked as an investment consultant at Singapore's DBS Bank, according to her LInkedin page.

Barings declined to comment.

The move comes after Amundi cut headcount in Asia following its merger with Pioneer Investments last year. Some 70 staff have been laid off across Hong Kong and Singapore in the past few months, including most of the investment team in those two locations, as first reported by AsianInvestor.

SEARCH FIRM WELLESLEY TO BUILD WEALTH PRACTICE

Recruitment firm Wellesley Partners has hired Isabella Rova (pictured) to build and run a wealth management practice in its Hong Kong head office, Asianinvestor has learned.

She will start on February 1, subject to visa approval, moving from rival Huxley in Hong Kong, where she headed the banking and finance team as senior principal consultant with a strong private banking focus.

Wellesley, which also has offices in Mumbai and Singapore, had previously touched on wealth management as part of its asset management coverage, said Jeremy Harris, Hong Kong-based partner and head of the asset management practice at Wellesley.

Harris told AsianInvestor that the firm had taken time to add wealth management coverage because it was tough to find the right person with strong relationships and the potential to build a successful practice in this area. 

“Isabella will fit well into the Wellesley culture and bring significant synergies to the firm and in particular to our asset management practice,” he added.

Huxley did not respond to an emailed request for comment by press time.

SCHRODERS NAMES SE ASIA HEAD OF MULTI-ASSET PRODUCT 

Schroders appointed Reginald Tan (pictured) as head of multi-asset product for Southeast Asia in January.

Based in Singapore, Tan works with clients in Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Brunei. He reports to Garth Taljard, London-based head of multi-asset management.

Tan joins the UK-based fund house from Amundi Singapore, where he was director and head of multi-asset strategies for South Asia. Amundi said it was not able to comment on Tan’s departure by press time.

Tan replaces Vincent Chan who left Schroders in June 2017, according to a company spokesman. There are three Singapore-based members of the multi-asset product team: Tan and two colleagues who report to him. They are integrated into a global product team of more than 25, the spokeswoman added.

AsianInvestor could not ascertain what Chan is doing now.

Schroders appointed Keiko Kondo as deputy head of multi-asset investments for Asia in October last year, in line with a growing trend for asset managers to build their asset allocation expertise in the region.

Schroders’ multi-asset business had over $87 billion of assets under management at September 30, 2017.

HERMES IM NAMES APAC SALES DIRECTOR

Hermes Investment Management has appointed Lin Chew (pictured) as director for its Asia Pacific (Apac) business development team, effective January 8.

Chew reports to Jakob Nilsson, head of business development for Apac.

Based in Singapore, Chew is responsible for managing engagement with the company’s clients and prospects across the region as it continues to grow its local footprint, Hermes IM said in a media statement.

Her focus will include providing analysis and insight into Asian markets, helping raise third party assets and delivering on new business targets.

This is a new role, Hermes IM said. Nilsson has been overseeing engagement with clients and prospects in the region since 2014.

Last year, the fund house saw significant interest from wholesale and institutional Apac investors across its suite of investment and stewardship products and the team expansion is a result of that interest, a spokeswoman for the firm said.

Chew was previously with Winton Capital Asia in the business development team. Winton Capital did not respond to queries from AsianInvestor by press time.

She has also previously held roles at Standard Chartered Bank, Lehman Brothers, Citibank and PwC.

MAYER BROWN JSM NAMES NEW PARTNER IN HK

US law firm Mayer Brown JSM has named Brian McKenna (pictured) as partner in its corporate and securities practice.

McKenna started at the firm on January 15, a Mayer Brown spokeswoman said, and he advises private equity sponsors, alternative investment funds, financial institutions, and multinational corporations on cross-border mergers and acquisitions, minority and control investments, secondary and fund-of-funds transactions, and capital market offerings, according to his website biography.

He was most recently international counsel at US law firm Debevoise & Plimpton in Hong Kong, a Debevoise spokesman confirmed, where he was on the M&A team.

His hire is the latest in a series of partner appointments at Mayer Brown in Asia, including Angelia Chia and Ben Sandstad in Singapore and Alan Linning in Hong Kong, all in August 2017, and Rupert Burrows in Tokyo in December, the Mayer Brown spokeswoman said.

CARLYLE ASIA ADDS FORMER GOLDMAN MD

Wanlin Liu is joining Carlyle Asia as a managing director in its private equity team in China, with responsibility for leading its growth investments.

Liu, who will be based in Shanghai, joins from Goldman Sachs where she spent 13 years working in private equity, according to Caryle's announcement on Wednesday. 

At Goldman, Liu worked in the principal investment area (PIA) and took a leading role on deals including those for Gan & Lee Pharmaceuticals, Best Inc. and Daesung Industrial Gases.

Goldman declined to comment on her departure.

FIDELITY APPOINTS NEW ESG HEAD

UK investment manager Fidelity International has named Michael Gibb (pictured) as head of stewardship and sustainable investing.

Effective January 15, Gibb leads Fidelity’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) team, overseeing the company’s strategy and policies on ESG integration across its products, a Fidelity spokeswoman said.

He is based in London, the spokeswoman confirmed, and reports to chief investment officer of Equities in Europe Paras Anand.

The role is newly created, though prior to the appointment the seven-person ESG team reported to head of corporate finance Trelawny Williams, the spokeswoman said. Williams remains with Fidelity as head of corporate finance, the spokeswoman confirmed, and will continue working with the investment team and overseeing relations with chairmen and independent directors.

Gibb most recently completed a master in business administration from the University of Edinburgh, with a focus on ESG engagement and influence. Prior to that, he was executive director and co-head of global wealth management distribution at UK investment manager Martin Currie in Singapore and Edinburgh, according to a LinkedIn profile.

Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:

BNPP WM hires amid rising private asset demand

China institutions tipped to shuffle leaders

UBP AM raids Robeco for Asia equity CIO
 

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