Based in Hong Kong, Buerge will report to AJ Harper, president and chief executive officer of BNY Mellon’s Asia-Pacific managed accounts business. He will be responsible for the continued design and development of the new platform and its investment offerings as well as setting product strategy as the company expands over the next few years.
At Credit Suisse, Buerge was global head of international locations for the company’s multi-asset class solutions business in Switzerland. During his 23-year tenure at Credit Suisse, Buerge has worked in a number of locations including Singapore where he was head of Asia-Pacific/Middle East, for discretionary mandates and portfolio management.
BNY Mellon received the approval from the Securities and Futures Commission in June 2013 for the new platform, which is being specifically designed for Asian investors. It will be offered to a select group of private banks and other leading wealth management providers to enable them to better serve their high-net-worth individual clients.
“We believe our new SMA (separately managed accounts) capabilities will be a real game-changer in the region,” said Harper.
“Our platform will be the first open architecture offering in Asia-Pacific that provides multi-currency options for separately managed accounts at an entry level of less than US$1m per portfolio. By participating, wealth managers will be able to offer customized investment solutions to their clients.”
BNY Mellon aims to partner with wealth managers and provide them with the platform, investment menus and tools to offer a range of investment portfolios to their clients.
The company said it is building a team of sales, investment and product professionals.
The global leader in investment management and investment services manages assets worth $1.4 trn as of Jun-end.
