SCHRODERS WM ACQUIRES THIRDROCK'S WEALTH BUSINESS, NAMES NEW ASIA HEAD
Schroders Wealth Management has agreed to acquire the wealth business of Singapore-based Thirdrock Group.
Founded in 2010, Thirdrock is an independent asset manager (IAM) with client assets under management of about S$3 billion ($2.2 billion). As part of the acquisition, Thirdrock will be merged with Schroders’ Singapore business and operate under the Schroders brand.
Thirdrock employees, including client advisers and portfolio managers, will transition to the Schroders Wealth Management office in Singapore, according to a media statement from Schroders.
A spokesman for Schroders said the fund management, corporate advisory and financial technology divisions of Thirdrock will remain with the IAM, but did not respond to a query on who would be in charge of these businesses at Thirdrock after the acquisition.
Jason Lai, CEO and founder of Thirdrock, has been given the newly created role of head of wealth management for Asia at Schroders Wealth Management, while Melvyn Yeo, chair of the investment committee and co-founder of Thirdrock, will become deputy head of wealth management for Asia.
Both men will work closely with Simon Lints, head of wealth management for Singapore and Robert Ridland, head of wealth management for Hong Kong, said the media statement.
The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. The transaction is expected to complete in the second quarter of 2019.
BARINGS NAMES ASIA EQUITIES HEAD
Lim Soo Hai was appointed to head Asia ex-China equities at Barings in January, a spokeswoman for the asset manager told AsianInvestor.
He was previously co-head of Asia ex-China equities, along with Lee Hyung Jin, who has been on extended leave and recently discontinued fund management duties, the spokeswoman said. She did not provide exact dates on when Lee went on leave or gave up his fund management responsibilities.
Lim joined Barings in 2005 and has some 20 years of investment experience.
Barings operates a team-based co-manager structure across the equity platform to ensure seamless continuity in the management of all funds regardless of any temporary or permanent personnel changes, said the spokeswoman.
COLUMBIA THREADNEEDLE APPOINTS NEW APAC HEAD
Columbia Threadneedle has promoted Jon Allen, head of Asia-Pacific distribution, to head of the region, effective January 1.
Based in Singapore, Allen reports to Ted Truscott, global chief executive officer in Boston, and Singapore chairman Raymundo Yu. He retains his previous distribution role and takes on broader duties in his new role.
Yu has transitioned from being both chairman and head of the region to his current position from January 1, a spokesman told AsianInvestor.
Allen joined Columbia Threadneedle in January 2010. He was previously with Prudential Asset Management and Royal & Sun Alliance Investments.
Columbia Threadneedle is the asset management arm of the US-based Ameriprise Financial, a financial services provider.
NTUC INCOME TO GET NEW CEO
Singaporean insurer NTUC Income has promoted Andrew Yeo to be its chief executive, effective June 1.
Yeo will take over from Ken Ng, who will be looking at taking up a new role within NTUC Enterprise to support the executive director, but will remain as Income’s chief executive until then to ensure a smooth transition, a media statement said.
Yeo is currently general manager of NTUC Income's life and health business, a position he has held since he joined the firm in 2015.
in response to an AsianInvestor query on who will replace Yeo in his former role after he takes over as CEO, a spokesman for NTUC Income only said that more information will be shared in due course.
NZ SUPER PROMOTES DOMESTIC EQUITIES HEAD
New Zealand Superannuation Fund has appointed Sam Porath as manager of New Zealand equities.
Porath will lead the team managing the sovereign wealth fund’s in-house active New Zealand equities mandate. He reports to Will Goodwin, head of NZ direct investment.
He is currently the portfolio manager for strategic tilting, according to a press release.
NZ Super did not immediately reply to AsianInvestor’s query about his predecessor or who will succeed Porath in his previous role.
SUMITOMO MITSUI TRUST AM APPOINTS CIO
The asset management arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings has appointed Akiyoshi Nagashima as its Tokyo-based chief investment officer.
Before taking up the new role at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management, Nagashima was previously the equity investment head of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Reuters reported.
His appointment follows the integration of Sumitomo Mitsui’s retail and institutional asset management businesses in October last year.
Sumitomo Mitsui did not immediately reply to AsianInvestor’s queries about his appointment.
Yi Huiman, former chairman of Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) has been appointed by the State Council as the chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC).
Yi replaces Liu Shiyu, who will move to the All China Federation of Supply and Marketing Cooperatives as its deputy communist party secretary.
The People’s Bank of China’s deputy governor Zhu Hexinm is set to replace Yi as chairman at ICBC, Bloomberg reported, citing unnamed sources.
MFC AM HIRES NEW PRESIDENT
Thailand's MFC Asset Management has appointed Dennis Lim Chong-Boon as its new president, effective January 25.
Based in Bangkok, Lim joined the asset manager on January 18, replacing incumbent Prapa Puranachote, who will retire from the post in September, a spokesman told AsianInvestor.
In the interim, Puranachote will remain responsible for the provident fund division until June, while Lim will assume duties for the rest of the divisions within the company.
Lim reports to the executive committee of MFC AM.
MFC AM is a joint venture between the International Finance Corporation (part of the World Bank) and the Government of Thailand.
Lim was previously with Templeton Asset Management as a co-chief executive for Singapore. He left the company in April 2017 and was replaced by Ong Tek-Khoan, a Templeton spokesman told AsianInvestor.
RUSSELL INVESTMENTS' ASIA CHIEF HEADS TO THE US
Russell Investments has appointed Peter Gunning, currently chief executive for Asia Pacific, as global chief investment officer, effectively January 30.
Gunning replaces Jeff Hussey, who departed in October 2018, the asset manager's spokesman told AsianInvestor. Hussey joined the firm in January 1993, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Gunning has relocated from Sydney to Seattle for the new role, but will continue to remain Asia Pacific head, a spokesman told AsianInvestor.
He reports to Michelle Seitz, chairman and chief executive of the asset manager.
Gunning is also a member of the firm’s executive committee.
CBRE’S ASIA HEAD OF RESEARCH ADDS EMEA COVERAGE
Property services firm CBRE has expanded the remit of Henry Chin, Asia-Pacific head of research, to also include Europe, the Middle East and Africa (Emea). He took up the new responsibilities on January 1.
Based in Hong Kong, Chin joined CBRE in February 2014, before which he worked for Pramerica Real Estate Investors (part of US insurer Prudential Financial) and Deutsche Bank.
Jos Tromp was previously Emea head of research at CBRE, but following a reorganisation, he is now head of research for continental Europe and head of thought leadership for Emea.
VARDE PARTNERS APPOINTS NEW PARTNER IN ASIA
Värde Partners has announced the appointment of Singapore-based Haseeb Malik, head of Asia corporate credit and traded credit, as a partner.
Malik joined the distressed debt manager in 2006 and helped to build the firm’s presence in large corporate restructurings in the region. Most recently, he led the establishment of Värde’s local presence in India, a key market for the firm.
BURSA MALAYSIA NAMES NON-EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN
Bursa Malaysia has appointed Shireen Muhiudeen as public interest director and non-executive chairman, effective March 1.
She succeeds Tan Sri Amirsham Aziz, who will step down on February 28. He had been in that post since March 1, 2015.
Muhiudeen is the founder of Kuala Lumpur-based Corston-Smith Asset Management. She was also previously chief executive of AIG Investment Corp and also a member of the International Advisory Panel for Labuan International Business and Financial Centre.
The appointment was made by the finance minister, the exchange said in a media statement.
AsianInvestor was unable to contact Corston-Smith AM to find out if Muhiudeen will continue to work at the firm she founded or if a replacement will be named.
