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Weekly roundup of people news, June 18

Malaysia's Armed Forces Fund hires new CEO; Canada's Omers appoints Asia capital markets managing director; HSBC Asset Management creates alternatives unit, appoints CIO as its head; Bank of Singapore names global wealth head; Aware Super hires IFA head; Hong Kong names acting head for MPFA; Schroders adding to Asia ESG headcount; and more.
Weekly roundup of people news, June 18

LTAT APPOINTS CEO

Malaysia’s $2.36 billion Armed Forces Fund Board (LTAT) appointed Ahmad Nazim Abdul Rahman as its new chief executive officer, effective June 14.

Nazim Abdul Rahman

Rahman was most recently Southeast Asia head of Abu Dhabi-based asset manager Allied Investment Partners. He replaces Amrin Awaluddin, who stepped down from LTAT on April 30 to join Malaysian Hajj fund Tabung Haji as group managing director and chief executive officer, after working at LTAT for just four months.

Media reports at the time speculated that Shazalli Ramly, managing director of LTAT portfolio company Boustead Holdings, would be his replacement. However, Ramly remains at Boustead.

In March, LTAT also saw the departure of chief investment officer Haniz Nazlan, who was hired by CIMB after less than two years as chief strategy officer. The CIO role remains vacant.

Rahman remains a member of several boards including Malyasia’s Energy Commission and National Higher Education Fund Corporation, and Singaporean private equity fund Regulus Advisors.

Allied Investment Partners did not respond to requests for comment on how it is covering Rahman's former responsibilities.

OMERS APOINTS ASIA CAPITAL MARKETS MD

Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (Omers) appointed Anand Ramachandran as managing director of capital markets Asia based in Singapore, effective June 14.

Anand Ramachandran

Ramachandran will report directly to Ashish Goyal, senior managing director of capital markets Asia. Anand takes over from Kannan Venkataramani, who is relocating to New York in his new role as senior managing director of global equities for Omers Capital Markets, a spokesperson said.

Before joining Omers, Ramachandran was most recently partner at River Valley Asset Management. Prior to that he held portfolio manager and research roles at Legg Mason (formerly Citigroup Asset Management) and Alliance Capital Management.

A spokesperson for River Valley said the firm is not looking for a replacement, adding the responsibilities had been internally distributed among the other directors of the company.

HSBC CREATES ALTERNATIVES DIVISION, NAMES HEAD

Joanna Munro

HSBC Asset Management is bringing together its existing alternative asset investment capabilities under a single business unit, HSBC Alternatives, with a 150-strong team and combined assets under management and advice of $53 billion.

Joanna Munro, currently global chief investment officer of HSBC AM, will lead the new combined unit, reporting directly to chief executive officer Nicolas Moreau.

Munro was appointed as the global CIO of HSBC AM in 2019 and has been with the firm since 2005, with previous roles including being CEO for multi-manager and CEO for Asia Pacific. She will continue to be based in London.

BANK OF SINGAPORE APPOINTS GLOBAL WEALTH HEAD

Bank of Singapore appointed Paul Chua as global head of wealth planning, effective June 28.

Paul Chua

He succeeds Tariq Salem, who remains at the bank as head of the structured solutions group. Prior to Chua’s appointment, Salem handled both roles.

Singapore-based Chua will report to global head of products Lim Leong Guan and help grow bank’s wealth planning, family office and trust succession offerings. His appointment comes as the bank’s family office clients tripled in 2020, the announcement said. In line with this, the bank also appointed Carrie Ng as head of single family office advisory in March.

Chua was most recently head of wealth planning for Singapore at UBS Wealth Management, where he spent 19 years.

UBS did not respond to requests for comment.

AWARE SUPER HIRES IFA LEAD FROM BT

Warwick Gribble

Aware Super appointed Warwick Gribble to lead its independent financial adviser (IFA) team, and is looking to hire at least two more managers to expand the team.

Gribble started in his role as national manager of advice relationships on June 15 and reports to head of business development Matt Willis, who used to oversee the IFA business.

The fund said in a statement that it was seeking to expand its IFA offering, which Aware had absorbed during its merger with WA Super last year. It is also looking to hire business development managers in Sydney and Melbourne, a spokesperson told AsianInvestor.

Gribble joins after 12 years at BT Financial Group, rising from senior business development manager to key account manager, predominantly in the retail insurance sector. He was also previously employed at Zurich Financial Services.

HONG KONG MPFA NAMES NEW ACTING MANAGING DIRECTOR

Cheng Yan-chee

The Hong Kong government named Cheng Yan-chee as acting managing director of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA) while it mounts a global search for a successor to Alice Law Shing-mui, who will leave on June 30.

Cheng is currently the MPFA’s chief corporate affairs officer and an executive director. He became the acting managing director on June 10 when Law went on leave. Joined the organisation in 2013, Cheng was previously working with Hong Kong government for 13 years as different roles including deputy secretary for home affairs and deputy secretary for financial services.

Law will leave the MPFA after her contract ends on June 30. She originally joined the agency as its chief operating officer in 2012, and was promoted to managing director in 2018. MPFA did not disclose the reason of Law's departure.

SCHRODERS TO BOOST ESG TEAM

Schroders announced plans to add ESG headcounts in Singapore as part of efforts to build out its sustainability team in the city state. It plans to hire four Asian ESG specialists by the end of 2021, including a head of Asian sustainability strategy. It aims to add more over the long term.

The new appointees will be part of Schroders’s global sustainability team, currently consisting of around 20 specialists, and report to global head of sustainable investment Andy Howard.

The hires could be both internal and external, a spokesperson said.

T. ROWE PRICE ADDS NEW EQUITY CO-PORTFOLIO MANAGER

Jihong Min

T. Rowe Price promoted investment analyst Jihong Min to co-portfolio manager for its Asia Opportunities Equity strategy, effective July 1. Min will work alongside Eric Moffett on the Asian ex-Japan equity portfolio.

Moffett and Malik Sarmad Asif were recently appointed as co-portfolio managers for T. Rowe Price’s Emerging Markets Equity strategy from April this year – alongside long-tenured portfolio manager Gonzalo Pángaro.

Moffett will take over as lead portfolio manager on the Emerging Markets Equity strategy at the beginning of 2022, upon the retirement of Pángaro. Min will then assume full portfolio manager responsibilities of the Asia Opportunities Equity strategy from April 2022.  Both Min and Moffett based in Singapore.

Min joined T. Rowe Price in 2012 and has worked with Moffett since the inception of the Asia Opportunities Equity strategy in 2014. A spokesperson told AsianInvestor that Min's analyst responsibilities will be assumed by T. Rowe Price’s team of Asia-based analysts. His reporting line has not yet been confirmed, the spokesperson said. 

CHINA DISTRIBUTION EXEC REJOINS UBS GLOBAL WEALTH MANAGEMENT

UBS Global Wealth Management rehired Edith Chan into its direct investment group as Greater China head of direct investment group distribution, effective June 21.

Chan rejoins the Swiss bank after having previously serving in a similar role at the company as its Greater China head of private markets distribution from 2014 to 2018. She then worked at JP Morgan Private Bank where she focused on private markets from 2018 to 2020. She also worked at various other private banks and asset managers, including HSBC Private Bank and Deutsche Bank.

A JP Morgan Private Bank spokeswoman declined to comment on Chan’s departure and replacement.

UBS did not reply to emailed questions on what happened to her predecessor.

CREDIT SUISSE ADDS EXECUTIVES FOR GREATER CHINA PRIVATE BANK TEAM

John Huang

Credit Suisse announced two promotions in its private banking team in Greater China, effective from June 16.

John Huang was promoted from team leader to market leader, a role in which he oversees more private banking relationship teams across Greater China coverage. In this new position he reports to Keng Cheong Lock, who is market group head for private banking, Greater China.

Another market leader appointment will be announced in due course, a spokeswoman told AsianInvestor.

In addition, Vanessa Wu has stepped up from her position as senior relationship manager to fill Huang's former role as team leader, also reporting to Lock. Both Wu and Huang based in Singapore.

Huang has worked at Credit Suisse since 2010, after initially starting his wealth management career at UBS.

Wu joined Credit Suisse in 2015 and has extensive experience in the private banking and investment banking industry. She also previously worked at UBS (in both wealth management and investment banking) in Taiwan for over 15 years.

Credit Suisse has hired 30 net private banking relationship managers in Asia Pacific during the first quarter this year. A spokeswoman said that the bank will continue to hire selectively for its North Asia private banking team. 

UBP EXPANDS HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE WEALTH TEAM

UBP, the Zurich-headquartered wealth and asset manager, has named several new appointments in Hong Kong and Singapore for investment and client relationship team.

Frankie Tong joined UBP as a Hong Kong-based managing director, head of investment consultants for North Asia in late March. Prior to this, he led a team of specialists focusing on ultra-high net worth individuals at Deutsche Bank’s private wealth management division.

Frank Gan has been hired into UBP's Singapore investment advisory team for South Asia. His most recent experience was at Standard Chartered Private Bank, where he worked in a similar capacity. UBP did not reply to emailed questions on their predecessors.

Deutsche declined to comment on Tong’s replacement while Standard Chartered did not reply to emailed questions on Gan's replacement. 

Elsewhere, Gigi Liu and Connie Chan have joined UBP as senior relationship managers, based in Hong Kong. Prior to joining UBP, Liu was a senior relationship manager at the private banking arm of Bank of Montreal, while Chan was a director for wealth management at BNP Paribas, with a focus on Hong Kong and China.

Bank of Montreal and BNP Paribas did not comment on Liu and Chan's respective departures or replacement plans. 

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