Credit Suisse chairman quits over covid rule breaches
Antonio Horta-Osório has stepped down as chairman of Credit Suisse, less than a year after taking the role.
The move comes after he was found in breach of covid rules twice in 2021.
In July, he did not follow the UK’s guidelines to attend Wimbledon’s tennis final, while in November he failed to adhere to Switzerland’s 10-day quarantine requirement, as he left the country three days after arriving.
The Swiss bank said board member and chair of the risk committee Axel Lehmann will take on the role of chairman effective immediately.
The board will also propose him for election as chairman at the upcoming annual general meeting on 29 April 2022.
HSBC AM poaches ETF and indexing head
HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) has appointed Marco Montanari as global capability head, ETF & indexing, effective 11 January 2022, subject to regulatory approval. Based in Hong Kong, Montanari reports to Guillaume Rabault, chief investment officer, Quant Equities.
In this newly created role, Montanari will work closely with the sales and investment teams to define and build a coherent product and service offering that reflects the strategic importance of passive to HSBC AM amidst a rapidly expanding market.
Montanari has two decades of experience in the industry. Prior to joining HSBC AM, he was head of product management Asia Pacific at DWS in Hong Kong where he oversaw product structuring and participated in the region’s strategic management. Before that, he held the role of head of passive asset management for 10 years following his move from London where he was head of fixed income ETFs structuring.
“As the importance of passive investing continues to rise across our industry, there is a significant opportunity for growth by providing comprehensive passive solutions that meet the diverse and changing needs of our clients,” said Rabault.
In 2020, HSBC AM set out its strategy to re-position the business as a core solutions and specialist emerging markets, Asia and alternatives focused asset manager.
J. P. Morgan hires Asia PB head of ops
Siok-Hoon Tan joins J.P. Morgan as a managing director and head of Asia private bank operations.
In her Singapore-based role, Tan reports to head of international private bank operations Bertrand Gontier and Asia chief executive Kam Shing Kwang.
Tan has about three decades of experience, and she joins from Bank of Singapore where she was head of operations. Previously, Tan was at UBS, including as Singapore head of group operations.
Manulife IM bolsters its multi-asset solutions team in Asia
Marc Franklin has joined Manulife Investment Management as managing director and senior portfolio manager, asset allocation.
Based in Hong Kong, Franklin reports to Luke Browne, senior managing director and head of asset allocation, Asia. His primary focus will be the management of cross-asset class portfolios and solutions, including benchmark relative, peer relative, risk managed and total return strategies.
Franklin has 14 years of investment industry experience, most recently as head of flexible multi asset for NN Investment Partners in the Netherlands. In this role, his team was responsible for overseeing a range of flexible absolute return, total return, and benchmark relative global multi asset funds and mandates across securities based and fund-of-funds strategies.
Manulife IM’s multi-asset solutions team now comprises 10 solutions professionals in Asia and a global franchise of over 55 staff.
HSBC hires a brace of private bankers
Wei Mei Tan has been hired as global and Asia head of advisory, investments and wealth solutions, and Michael Wong has joined as the regional head of ultra high net worth (UHNW) solutions group, investments and wealth solutions, Asia Pacific, according to a statement by HSBC.
Both report to Stefan Lecher, regional head of investments and wealth solutions of the bank.
Tan is based in Singapore and is responsible for “advancing the advisory offerings and platforms” globally and in Asia covering all client segments.
She has 20 years of experience across private banking, investment banking, asset management and fintech, and worked at Endowus, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse and UBS.
Located in Hong Kong, Wong is responsible for designing products and providing investment and financing advice for UHNW and family offices in Asia Pacific. He also has two decades of industry experience and was a part of the global family office team at UBS prior to joining HSBC.
BNP Paribas WM hires from Deutsche Bank WM
Hong Kong-based Chris Zee has been appointed head of equity advisory at BNP Paribas Wealth Management. He moves from Deutsche Bank Wealth Management, where he spent six years in a similar role.
Before that, he was an equity sell-side analyst for a dozen years at HSBC, Credit Suisse and CLSA.
Pinebridge nets Asia wealth management boss
PineBribge Investments, a private, global asset manager focused on active, high-conviction investing, has hired Nicolas Kopitsis as head of wealth management for Asia.
Based in Singapore, Kopitsis will focus on increasing awareness and distribution of Pinebridge’s investment capabilities to private banks and distribution platforms in the region.
Kopitsis has 20 years of asset management experience, most recently as head of intermediary distribution Asia ex-Japan for BNY Mellon in Singapore.
“This newly created role reflects Pinebridge’s wealth business strategy and focus for the Asia Pacific region, accelerating the firm’s ability to be well-positioned to meet the needs of the expanding global wealth market,” according to the firm.
