JP Morgan Asset Management has made several appointments across its institutional and intermediary teams in Asia as part of a reorganisation of its client coverage in Southeast Asia, AsianInvestor can reveal. The firm has also seen at least two recent departures from its sales teams.

Supreet Bhan has been promoted to head of Southeast Asia funds and institutional, expanding his coverage to institutional clients in markets beyond Singapore. He previously had a retail focus as head of Southeast Asia funds, a role he took up in February, before which he was India head of retail, according to his LinkedIn page.

Supreet Bhan

Bhan continues to report to Steven Billiet, JPM AM’s head of Singapore, South and Southeast Asia and Korea. Prior to Bhan's promotion, Singapore and Southeast Asia institutional clients were covered by a separate team reporting to Billiet, said a spokeswoman.

New advisers in Singapore...

Meanwhile, Nicholas Wong joined JP Morgan AM from BNP Paribas Asset Management last month as a client adviser in Singapore, reporting to Bhan. In this newly created role he is responsible for institutional and retail business in Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia, said the spokeswoman.

Wong left BNPP AM in late September. His role has been absorbed by Tan Puay Lit, who rejoined the French firm in September as director of institutional sales for South Asia.

In addition, Jacqueline Yeh joined JPM AM in September as a client adviser in Singapore, responsible for institutions and sovereigns. She is also an addition to the team and reports to Billiet.

Yeh was previously an associate director at Amundi covering Southeast Asia institutional clients. She also held similar roles at Eastspring, Franklin Templeton and BNP Paribas.

JP Morgan AM has made the changes as part of a move to a country-specific approach in Southeast Asia to integrate client coverage across institutional and retail. 

Billiet said in an email: “The new team structure and the additional hires strengthen our ability to cover client needs in this region, enabling a deeper and more focused market coverage.”

The moves come after Rachel Farrell left her Singapore-based role as Asia-Pacific ex-Japan head of institutional business. She switched to become head of Australia late last year and has not been directly replaced in the institutional post.

... but departures in Hong Kong

Meanwhile, Heidy Tse left JP Morgan AM to join Invesco in Hong Kong in mid-October as head of client relations for institutional business, covering Greater China, Southeast Asia and Korea. AsianInvestor could not ascertain who had held that role previously.

Heidy Tse

Tse had worked for Invesco in the past, and her licence with the firm restarted on November 2, according to records of Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission. Invesco declined to comment.

She had served at JP Morgan AM for a year in Hong Kong as head of anti-money laundering and client due diligence, and before that worked at Invesco and Fidelity, according to LinkedIn.

JP Morgan confirmed Tse’s departure but declined to comment further.

Finally, on the intermediaries side, David Chang joined JPM AM in Hong Kong in October as a client adviser in the global strategic relationships group, which focuses on key intermediary relationships in Asia Pacific. Chang replaced a previous departure, but the firm declined to reveal that individual’s identity

He was previously executive director at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, where he focused on private bank relationships. Chang now reports to Brian Tan, Asia-Pacific head of global strategic relationships.