APG AM EXPANDS EM EQUITY TEAM
APG Asset Management, the biggest Dutch pension fund manager, has added a trio to its emerging market equity team in Hong Kong, boosting its headcount to 16.
Sue Xu joined from China Asset Management and Robert Potts from Singapore-based fund boutique Arisaig Partners, both as investment analysts starting in October. Prashant Periwal arrived as a portfolio manager in September from UK pension fund USS. They all take up newly created roles.
APG appointed Periwal to boost its India equity capabilities, Xu to expand the EM small and midcap team and Potts to support the portfolio managers covering Latin America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa; and India.
Xu reports to James Fletcher, head of global EM small- and mid-cap equities. Potts and Periwal report to Egon Vrek, who runs APG's EM equity investments in LatAm, Emea and India.
Potts's last day at Arisaig was May 31, and the firm declined to comment on whether he had been replaced.
Periwal left USS on September 28. His initial role was as maternity cover in the EM team before he took on a second temporary role in developed markets, a USS spokeswoman said. These roles are now covered by permanent staff members.
ChinaAMC did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
The hires are part of APG’s major buildout in Asia, during which its investment headcount has grown to 42 from 29 in the past year, including both public and private market specialists.
Just last month the firm set up offices in Beijing and Shanghai and it is recruiting a China fixed income team. Also in October it launched a natural resources desk in Hong Kong to cover Asia Pacific.
AMP CAPITAL SENIOR PM EXITS
Nam Nguyen, formerly Hong Kong-based senior portfolio manager at AMP Capital, left the firm on October 31. A company spokesman confirmed his departure and said Australian fund house was seeking a replacement.
Nguyen was responsible for discretionary macro trading and relative-value strategies. He also oversaw macroeconomic analysis, portfolio and risk management, and yield curve analysis, among other areas, according to his LinkedIn profile.
He declined to comment on his next move.
CREDIT SUISSE HIRES FOR AUSTRALIA INVESTMENT TEAM
Credit Suisse has hired Jasmin Argyrou and Jude McDonnell into the private bank's Australia investment team, according to an internal memo seen by AsianInvestor.
A spokesman at Credit Suisse declined to comment on when the two started, whether their roles were newly created or who had looked after their responsibilities previously.
McDonnell joins the funds advisory team in Melbourne as vice president. She will focus on researching and monitoring investments for the Australian business.
She most recently worked at Australian investment consulting firm Lonsec as head of fixed income and multi asset. A Lonsec spokesman told AsianInvestor that it intended to make an announcement about changes to its research and investment solutions teams next week, but otherwise declined to comment.
Argyrou has been hired as a portfolio manager in the discretionary portfolio management team. She was most recently investment director for fixed income with Aberdeen Standard Investments (ASI) and left in late October, according to a spokeswoman.
Prior to that role, Argyrou held senior portfolio management positions with BNP Paribas, Schroders Investment Management and UBS Global Asset Management.
At ASI, Argyrou’s responsibilities have been assumed by members of the Australian fixed income team. To help assist in the transition, Liam O’Donnell, a member of the Australian fixed income portfolio management group, has relocated from the UK to Sydney and will be based there for "a period of time, according to the spokeswoman.
Separately, ASI announced the hire of Amanda Chong on November 12 as investment manager focusing on Australian credit. She previously spent some 12 years with Susquehanna International Group in senior research roles, and before that worked at St George Bank, UBS Group and Maple-Brown Abbott.
BANK OF SINGAPORE NAMES FAMILY OFFICE HEAD FOR MIDDLE EAST
Bank of Singapore has appointed Hani Al Nabulsi as head of global investors and family offices for the Middle East, effective November 3 and based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Al Nabulsi reports to Kirit Chauhan, head of the bank's Dubai International Financial Centre branch. Bank of Singapore declined to respond to questions about whether this is a new role or a replacement.
He joined from Credit Suisse, where he was Dubai-based managing director for private banking, according to his LinkedIn. Credit Suisse declined to comment on his departure.
JPM AM NAMES HEAD OF GLOBAL AGG STRATEGIES
JP Morgan Asset Management has appointed Myles Bradshaw as head of global aggregate fixed income strategies within its global fixed income currencies and commodities (GFICC) group.
Bradshaw took up the role on November 11. He succeeds Iain Stealey, following Stealey’s promotion to international chief investment officer for GFICC earlier this year. Bradshaw reports to Stealey, and both of them are based in London.
Bradshaw joins from French fund house Amundi, where he was London-based head of the global aggregate fixed income team. Amundi declined to comment on his departure.
FIRST STATE INVESTMENTS NAMES NEW COO
First State Investments has appointed Rob Scott as chief operating officer (COO).
Scott joined the firm in mid-June and is currently based in Sydney, but will be based in Hong Kong starting February 1. He reports to chief executive Mark Steinberg, and is responsible for the firm's business operations, IT and data.
The role was previously covered by Heather Brilliant, who was working in an acting COO capacity alongside with her role as managing director for Americas, according to a company spokesman. He didn't comment on who the former COO was.
He joined from Nikko Asset Management, where he was Tokyo-based head of global operations. A company spokesman declined to comment on his departure.
First State Investments has also named Justin Hourigan as global head of data and Lorraine Dryland as chief information security officer, alongside Scott's appointment.
*This brief has been updated to give more details on Scott's new role at First State Investments.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week:
APG sets up China offices and local bond team
Asia's instos aim to ramp up hiring of ESG experts
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