Vinita Badlani, Allfunds
One of the hires is Vinita Badlani, who has been named as Singapore-based head of funds group for Asia. Badlani was head of fund selection at Aviva’s Navigator, an IFA-focused platform in Singapore, and stepped down from her role early last year, as reported by Spy. At the time, Marisca Wong, who has been part of the investments and business development team, took over Badlani’s role.
In her new role, Badlani will report to Borja Largo, Allfunds’ global head of funds group, according to the statement, which did not elaborate on her responsibilities.
Alexis Fosler, Singapore-based general manager for Asia, told FSA previously that the firm will be expanding its investment advisory and portfolio solutions capabilities in Singapore. The unit provides services such as due diligence and fund selection.
“[Investment advisory] is an area of the business that we will continue to grow, and from a global perspective, it is certainly high on our list of priorities,” she said.
The firm’s investment services team has around 25 people based in Europe, servicing clients globally. Around 65,000 funds are on its platform, she said.
At the time, the firm had 12 people for other businesses, including fund execution, custody and administration services. The firm first set up an Asia office in Singapore in 2016.
Other hires
The firm has also made two other senior hires: Oliver Stewart-Malir as chief operating officer for Asia, and Edwin Tan as head of client services for Asia, according to the statement. Tan will closely work with the sales and marketing team to build and maintain relationships with Allfunds’ Asia-based clients. Both of them will report to Fosler.
Stewart-Malir has 14 years of experience in operations management with financial services firms. Before Allfunds, he spent 13 years at Goldman Sachs, where he held multiple leadership roles including Asia Pacific head of liquidity and collateral operations, as well as head of Asia for derivative projects.
Tan has 16 years of financial services experience, including client relationship and fund services roles. Before Allfunds, he was from Citco Fund Services, according to the statement.
“We expect our team to continue to grow as we go into next year, which will be an exciting period for our firm,” Fosler said in the statement.
