Weekly roundup of people news, June 14
AXA IM'S ASIA HEAD OF FRAMLINGTON EQUITIES LEAVES
Mark Tinker, formerly head of Framlington Equities for Asia of Axa Investment Managers, has left the fund manager, AsianInvestor can exclusively reveal.
Tinker left the firm at the end of May, a spokewoman at the firm said.
His duties with Framlington equities – an active investing arm of Axa – have been absorbed by the local team in Hong Kong, the spokeswoman said.
AsianInvestor understands that William Chuang, senior analyst of the firm will take over much of Tinker's responsibilities. Axa Investment Managers did not immediately confirm whether this would be the case.
Tinker joined the Framlington team in November 2006, while Chuang has been with the firm since May 2014. In April 2007, shortly after joining, Tinker launched the Axa Framlington Absolute Return Gemini Worldview global long-short strategy. He also took over the Axa Framlington Global Opportunities Funds in October of the same year.
Chuang, meanwhile, has been the manager of the JPY-denominated Axa World Funds II - Asia Select Income I Distribution vehicle since January 2018.
HARVEST SEIZES FIXED INCOME HEAD FROM MANULIFE
Harvest Global Investments, the Hong Kong-based investment arm of China's Harvest Fund Management, has named Eric Liu as its head of fixed income.
Liu had worked at Harvest GI between 2013 and 2014, and he rejoined the fund house on June 11. He reports to Thomas Kwan, Harvest GI’s chief investment officer, a company spokeswoman said.
She declined to comment on whom Liu has replaced, commenting only that his appointment helps to expand its renminbi bond capabilities.
Liu was previously a senior director and portfolio manager for fixed income at Manulife Investment Management, a position he left this month, according to his LinkedIn profile. A spokeswoman at Manulife IM confirmed his exit and said the firm is looking to fill his role.
Separately, Harvest GI lost two fixed income portfolio managers over the past eight months. Eddie Chia recently departed while Winnie Wong left in November last year. The spokeswoman confirmed the departures to AsianInvestor but did not elaborate on how the firm is dealing with them.
As of the first quarter, the Harvest GI investment team had 29 staffers with a fixed income team of seven members. Its assets under management stood at $126 billion, she said.
ALLIANZ NAMES ASIA CHIEF FOR LIFE AND HEALTH
German insurance group Allianz has named Anusha Thavarajah as chief executive for its life and health business in Asia Pacific, likely starting in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Based in Singapore, Thavarajah will take on an expanded role that includes full responsibility for the profit and loss and functional development of the business, a spokesman said. She was previously Malaysia chief executive at AIA, a Hong Kong-headquartered insurer.
In her new role, Tharavajah will report to Asia-Pacific chief executive Solmaz Altin, a company statement said. She is replacing Renate Wagner, who left in March to become the chief human resources officer for Allianz in Munich.
A 30-year veteran of the financial services industry, Thavarajah has worked in the UK, Hong Kong and Malaysia and across life and health, finance, actuarial, product, business and operations functions, Allianz said.
EAST CAPITAL PROMOTES NEW ASIA HEAD
Stockholm-headquartered asset manager East Capital has internally appointed Francois Perrin as its new head of Asia from May 2019. Perrin will also continue to lead the company's investment and research activities in Greater China and contribute to the sustainable investment framework.
An East Capital spokesperson confirmed that Perrin replaces Adrian Pop, who left the company last year.
Perrin will be based in Hong Kong and report to Jacob Grapengiesser, deputy CIO. He has worked at East Capital since November 2015.
East Capital also added Sanat Sachar as an analyst based in its Dubai office in May. Sachar joined from AL Mal Capital where he covered the Middle Eastern market.
GAM NAMES HEAD OF AUSTRALIA INSTITUTIONAL
GAM Investments has appointed Alison Wallis as a director of institutional business, effective June 5.
Based in Sydney, Wallis reports to Alex Zaika, managing director for Australia, who is also based in Sydney.
Wallis's role was created to expand the Swiss firm’s coverage of institutional clients, which previously fell to Zaika, a spokeswoman said. She has joined from fund manager Brookvine, where she was based in Sydney, a spokeswoman for the firm told AsianInvestor.
Wallis left Brookvine last month. Her responsibilities have been taken on by David Chamberlain, who was promoted from associate to manager of investment research and distribution from, and Louise Walker, head of institutional distribution.
ABERDEEN STANDARD NAMES AUSSIE INVESTMENT SPECIALIST
Aberdeen Standard Investments named Nick Schoenmaker as its senior investment specialist in Australia, starting June 11.
He replaces Josh Hall who was a senior investment specialist in Australia. Schoenmaker will help strengthen the distribution of products to institutional clients and advisers, Aberdeen said.
Schoenmaker joined from Australian asset manager AMP Capital, where he was the national manager of a team of portfolio specialists across multi-asset and goals-based funds since January 2018 and a senior manager/investment specialist for fixed income, Aberdeen Standard said in a press release.
Schoenmaker will be based in Sydney and reports to Donald Amstad, the Singapore-based chief operating officer for distribution and Asia-Pacific head of investment specialists.
HP WEALTH MANAGEMENT EXPANDS TEAM
Singapore’s HP Wealth Management has hired Rishi Dhanuka as a senior relationship manager from Bank of Singapore, the private banking arm of OCBC.
Dhanuka joined on May 10 in a newly created role as part of the independent firm’s expansion, managing partner and founder Urs Brutsch told AsianInvestor.
Dhanuka was previously executive director in the South Asia and Middle East team at Bank of Singapore, which declined to comment further. Prior to that, he had worked at Barclays, UBS and Societe Generale.
The appointment comes after HP added Rosemary Liang in January to build out its private market capabilities. She was previously an associate director at UBS advising on direct investment and corporate finance. UBS did not respond to a request for comment.
Dhanuka reports to Brutsch, while Liang reports to Jose Camacho, HP's head of private markets.
CAPITAL GROUP APPOINTS MARKETING DIRECTOR
Capital Group has appointed Jean Tan as its marketing director for Singapore and Southeast Asia.
Tan started the role on June 3 and is based in Singapore. She reports to Hannah Aymé, managing director of financial intermediaries marketing for Europe and Asia.
This is a newly created role to support business expansion in the region. Thie role was previously supported by team members in Singapore and Hong Kong, a company spokeswoman said.
Jean joins Capital Group from Natixis Investment Managers, where she was Asia-Pacific head of marketing.
PICTET POACHES SENIOR RM FROM JULIUS BAER
Sanjeev Premchand has moved to Pictet Wealth Management in Zurich as a senior private banker on its Middle East team.
He started on June 10 in the newly created role and is responsible for ultra-high-net-worth clients from the Middle East and Asia, including the Indian sub-continent, a spokeswoman for the Swiss firm said. Premchand joined Pictet after a 15-year career with Julius Baer, most recently as a managing director.
At Pictet WM, Premchand reports to Saman Habibian, head of the Middle East region, the spokeswoman added. The move is aimed at reinforcing the private bank's coverage of the region.
Other people news reported in the past week by Asianinvestor: