China Minsheng Investment shakes up Hong Kong unit
Hong Kong-based CM Asset Management, part of Shanghai's China Minsheng Investment Group (CMIG), has made two senior equity hires as part of several staff changes in recent months.
They are Anthony Ho, the former chief investment officer for Asia equities at Amundi, and Stephen Ma, who was previously lead portfolio manager for Asia ex-Japan equities at the same firm. Both left the French fund house amid staff cuts and relocations following its merger last year with Pioneer Investments, which was first announced in December 2016.
CM AM conducts investments on behalf of CMIG and its affiliates and may also be bringing in high-quality portfolio managers to help run funds to sell through distributors in China, a Hong Kong-based recruiter said.
CMIG is one of China’s biggest private investment firms. It was set up in 2014 by Dong Wenbiao, the former chairman of China Minsheng Bank, with a registered capital of Rmb50 billion ($8.13 billion).
CM AM staff declined to comment when contacted by AsianInvestor, apart from saying that Ho was an executive director.
Ho has taken up the role of CIO at CM AM, a source familiar with the matter said. He became one of four responsible officers at CM AM (HK) on February 5, according to records from Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), having obtained his representative licence on November 29 last year.
Ma’s licence with the firm started on February 1. AsianInvestor could not ascertain his new title, nor whether either he or Ho had replaced anyone.
STAFF CHANGES
CM AM's headcount appears to have grown quickly in the past two years: it had 18 individuals with SFC licences at the end of 2017, up from 14 a year before and four at the end of 2015.
In addition to Anthony Ho and Ma, six individuals have received new licences at the firm since August 2017: Chan Wang, Chen Mingwei, Alan Ip, Kou Yuanyuan, Wang Miao and Wang Wenxiao.
Four others saw their licences cease during that period: He Zhaoqiang, Ho Yu Hei, Lin Bing and Wen Xiao. Lin had been managing director of CM AM since March 2016, according to Bloomberg, and had served as one of the firm’s responsible officers.
AsianInvestor could not ascertain what the other individuals' roles had been.
Anthony Ho left Amundi in May last year after joining it in October 2015. He had previously served as chief executive of the Hong Kong subsidiary of China International Fund Management, a Shanghai-based joint venture between JP Morgan Asset Management and Shanghai International Trust. Ho has also worked for JP Morgan AM, China AMC, Fidelity, and Arthur Andersen.
Ma’s licence at Amundi ceased on November 15. He joined in September 2016 from BMO Global Asset Management, having also worked for Fidelity Investments.
This article includes reporting by Ernest Chan.