FROM THE PRESS RELEASE DESK THIS WEEK…
People moves
RBC Wealth Management has appointed Terence Chow as its new head of Asia, effective 1 November. Chow will replace Peter Corry, who will be retiring from the firm. Corry has been with the firm for 22 years. The last three years he has been head of Asia for wealth management. Following the leadership change, Mike Reed, CEO for RBC Singapore branch, will lead RBC Wealth Management’s Singapore office and Southeast Asia private banking team, reporting to Chow. Based in Hong Kong, Chow has been with the firm for 15 years and has held a number of senior roles. Since February, Chow has held the role of chief operating officer for RBC Wealth Management for Asia…
Aberdeen Standard Investments has appointed Ken Yajima as Tokyo-based CEO and representative director for its Japan business. Yajima will replace Neil Slater, who has taken on the role of deputy head of private markets and global head of real estate. Before ASI, Yajima was Schroders’ head of distribution for Japan, where he was responsible for managing institutional and intermediary sales and product management and development…
JP Morgan Asset Management has appointed Rick Wei as head of Asia (ex-Japan) insurance strategy. Based in Hong Kong, Wei will be responsible for representing the firm’s overall insurance solutions to clients, regulators and industry associations. He will be working with the firm’s client advisors and investment teams to facilitate the growth of the firm’s insurance business. Before JP Morgan AM, Wei was head of Asia insurance strategy at BNP Paribas Asset Management. The firm’s insurance solutions team manages $144bn in general account assets under management globally…
The Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA) has appointed Bruno Lee, regional head of retail wealth distribution, wealth and asset management at Manulife Investment Management, as its chairman. Meanwhile, Isabella Chan, head of global financial institutions for Asia-Pacific and head of retail business for Greater China at Franklin Templeton, has been named as HKIFA’s vice chairman. The association has also appointed executive committee members for the year 2019-2020, which include:
|
Clarchie Szeto |
Aberdeen Standard Investments |
|
Nelson Chow |
Alliance Bernstein |
|
Philip Tso |
Allianz Global Investors |
|
William Law |
Amundi |
|
Sam Yu |
Baring Asset Management |
|
Michelle Chua |
BEA Union Investment Management |
|
Steven Wells |
Blackrock |
|
KP Luk |
Fidelity |
|
Pedro Bastos |
HSBC Global Asset Management |
|
Terry Pan |
Invesco |
|
Eric Fu |
Investec Asset Management |
|
Elisa Ng |
JP Morgan Asset Management |
|
Florence Chan |
Natixis Investment Managers |
|
Douglas Fick |
Principal Asset Management |
|
Amy Cho |
Schroders |
| Wallace Tsang |
Value Partners |
ESG
Deutsche Bank Wealth Management has bolstered its ESG strategy with the adoption of ESG ratings from MSCI, according to a statement from the firm. The bank will also extend its ESG product offering across discretionary wealth management and investment advisory, as well as launching new research, client materials and events related to ESG. The firm has added an ESG section on its website called “adding purpose to performance”…
Business moves
Manulife Investment Management has launched an online fund platform service, “Invest Choice”. The platform enables users to purchase and view mutual funds managed by Manulife IM and other fund houses. One of its key features is “Manulife i-funds”, which has fund analysis tools. The firm claims that the platform makes use of a proprietary fund analysis process, in which it will only include a “competitive set of funds”. Users also have the option to choose between two fee structures: one is an asset-based account, in which an annual fee will be charged based on the account’s average assets under management, while the other is the trade-based account, where a fee will be charged for each transaction made…
Eastspring Investments has raised $122m for its Target Income Fund 8 in Malaysia, making it the largest closed-end bond fund in the country, according to a statement from the firm. The firm believes that investors and distributors were attracted by the fund’s 40% investment capital payback at the end of three years, as well as potential regular income distribution between 4.7%-5% per annum. Launched in July, the fund is distributed by Eastspring’s agents, Ambank, CIMB Bank, Philip Mutual and Standard Chartered Bank…
ETFs
ETF usage in Asia-Pacific continues to lag its global peers, according to a survey of global fund selectors conducted by JP Morgan AM. In Asia-Pacific, ETFs account for only 23% of clients’ portfolios, which compares to the US (41%), Latin America (35%) and Europe, Middle East and Africa (25%). However, the usage of such products in the region is expected to increase to 33% in the next two-to-three years…
