Weekly roundup of people news, Oct 12
EASTSPRING BOLSTERS MULTI-ASSET SOLUTIONS TEAM
Eastspring Investments, the Asian fund management arm of Prudential, has hired two directors in its multi-asset solutions team in Singapore.
Jason Hepner joined as senior portfolio manager and Mary Nicola as G10 foreign exchange and Asian fixed income strategist. Both came on board in July and report to Colin Graham, Singapore-based chief investment officer for multi-asset solutions.
Hepner is responsible for the investment performance of multi-asset strategies and enhancing portfolio construction, a media statement said.
Nicola is responsible for global macro research, with a focus on G10 currencies and Asian rates.
Both are newly created roles, a company spokeswoman said. She declined to specify how these duties were covered before the two came on board.
Hepner was previously Edinburgh-based investment director of the multi-asset and macro investing team at Standard Life Aberdeen, a position he left in December 2017. His responsibilities have been assumed by existing members of the team, a spokeswoman at Standard Life Aberdeen said.
Nicola was previously an investment strategist at UK firm Aviva Investors in Singapore. She left on April 6 and her responsibilities are currently shared among the team, said a spokeswoman at Aviva Investors.
VALUE PARTNERS SETS UP MALAYSIA OFFICE
Hong Kong-based fund house Value Partners has set up an office in Kuala Lumpur, which will become operational next month and serve as its second Southeast Asian hub for product development, investment and distribution.
The asset manager also has an office in Singapore.
Michael Greenall, managing director of Southeast Asia, will be leading the Malaysia office and business expansion efforts in Southeast Asia. He is based in Kuala Lumpur.
By the end of this year there should be a five-member team across investment and other functional departments in Kuala Lumpur, a spokeswoman for Value Partners told AsianInvestor. The aim is then to double staff strength by the end of 2019, she added.
The firm has received approval in principle from Malaysia's Securities Commission for a capital market services licence for fund management, the company said in a statement.
Its Singapore office, led by Kenny Tjan, remains a hub for product distribution and investment management for Southeast Asia, the spokeswoman added. It has five investment professionals, including fund managers and analysts, based in the city state, she said.
Apart from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur, Value Partners has offices in Shanghai, Shenzhen and London.
INVESTEC AM NAMES GREATER CHINA HEAD
Investec Asset Management has appointed Eric Fu as managing director and country head for Greater China, effective October 8, and is set to make an announcement related to a wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE) in China.
Based in Hong Kong, Fu will report to Mark Samuelson, Sydney-based managing director of Investec Asset Management for Asia Pacific.
In his newly created role, Fu is responsible for overseeing Investec AM's advisory and institutional businesses across Greater China, among other duties, said the spokesman.
Fu was previously chief executive of HSBC Broking Services Asia, which declined to comment on his departure.
Before Fu joined Investec AM, the Greater China business was being collectively handled by the regional teams, the spokesman added.
Investec does not have a WFOE in China yet but is set to make an announcement in due course, a spokesman told AsianInvestor.
M&G INVESTMENTS RELOCATES TWO TO ASIA
UK fund house M&G Investments has relocated two executives from London to Asia.
Ajay Patel, investment director for the private funds investment team, moved to Hong Kong in September, an M&G spokeswoman told AsianInvestor.
Patel is responsible for monitoring the existing portfolio and sourcing new private equity fund investments in Asia.
He reports to John Euers, London-based director for M&G Private Funds Investment.
Meanwhile, Pierre Chartres, investment director with M&G’s retail fixed interest team, relocated from London to the Singapore office in September, the spokeswoman said.
Chartres works with the fixed interest team in London to provide the client service and distribution teams with investment and fund updates. He reports to London-based Neal Brooks, head of business management.
Both Asia-based roles are newly created, the spokeswoman said. M&G did not respond to AsianInvestor queries on whether anyone had previously looked after those functions in the region, nor whether the former roles have been filled in London.
HKVCA NAMES H. CHIN CHOU AS CHAIRMAN
The Hong Kong Venture Capital and Private Equity Association has named H. Chin Chou, Asia CEO of Morgan Stanley Private Equity, as its chairman for a one-year term, effective September 28.
Former chairman Eric Mason, who is also head of Asia for the New York-based Church Pension Fund, will now serve as executive director for HKVCA. A 24-strong new board was also elected on September 28.
NORTHERN TRUST AM APPOINTS CHIEF INVESTMENT STRATEGIST FOR EMEA AND ASIA
Northern Trust Asset Management has hired Wouter Sturkenboom as chief investment strategist for Europe, Middle East, Africa (Emea) and Asia-Pacific, effective October 1.*
Sturkenboom reports to Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist of US asset servicing and management group Northern Trust.
In this newly created role, Sturkenboom is responsible for helping develop tactical and strategic investment strategies and supporting the firm's multi-asset class initiatives worldwide.
This appointment follows that of Marie Dzanis, who was named as Emea head of Northern Trust Asset Management in July.
Sturkenboom was previously with Russell Investments as a senior investment strategist first in London and then in New York. He left the firm in July, a spokesman for Russell Investments said, adding that the group is hiring a replacement in its New York office.
*This story has been updated to reflect Sturkenboom's date of joining.
NANUK AM HIRES INVESTMENT ANALYST
Sydney-based Nanuk Asset Management has appointed Jane Henderson as investment analyst, effective October 8.
Henderson will report to the firm’s chief executive, Eric Siegloff.
She was previously with Brisbane-headquartered Solaris in Australia as an investment analyst.
Henderson has also worked for Norway's sovereign wealth fund, Norges Bank Investment Management, in London, as well as for Australian investment houses Perpetual and QIC.
Her appointment represents an expansion of the investment team, Siegfloff told AsianInvestor.
Nanuk AM is a specialist global equities manager in Australia that invests in areas such as clean energy, energy efficiency, waste management, industrial automation, recycling and sustainable materials.
Solaris did not respond to AsianInvestor queries at to when Henderson left or whether a replacement had been named.
Other people news reported by AsianInvestor in the past week: