WILLIAM BLAIR IM CREATES HEAD OF ASIA DISTRIBUTION ROLE
William Blair Investment Management has appointed Lih-Yann Tan as its Singapore-based head of Asia distribution.
In this newly created role, Tan will be responsible for leading the firm’s institutional and wholesale distribution across the region, according to a statement from the firm. She will report to Tom Ross, partner and head of international distribution.
Tan’s hire follows the firm’s opening of a Singapore office in September. At the time, it also hired an emerging market debt specialist.
Before William Blair IM, Tan was at NN Investment Partners, where she was head of institutional business development. She also worked at Lion Global Investors and DBS Asset Management (now known as Nikko Asset Management), the statement said.
William Blair IM is a global boutique firm that managed $61.7bn in assets as of the end of September and focuses on active management across equity, fixed income, currency and multi-asset strategies. It works closely with institutions, including private and public pension funds, insurance companies, endowments, foundations and sovereign wealth funds, as well as financial advisors.
JP MORGAN AM EXPANDS ASIA STEWARDSHIP AND ESG TEAMS
JP Morgan Asset Management has expanded its stewardship and ESG teams in Asia with two new appointments.
The firm has named Felix Lam as head of investment stewardship for Asia ex-Japan and Robert Harden as a sustainable investing research analyst. Both roles are based in Hong Kong and report to Jennifer Wu, global head of sustainable investing.
Lam will be responsible for advancing JP Morgan AM’s regional stewardship approach by leading corporate engagement, as well as overseeing proxy voting and stewardship reporting, according to a press statement.
He was at CCB International Securities, where he served nearly eight years, including most recently as head of power, energy and materials research. Before that, he was head of materials and China property research at Daiwa Capital Markets.
The firm has been active in its investment stewardship efforts. Last year, it appointed Shizuko Ohmi as head of investment stewardship for Japan, according to the statement. In February, it also published global priorities for its investment-led stewardship approach.
Meanwhile, Harden will focus on applying data science and machine learning techniques towards ESG data and materiality research and China ESG initiatives. His appointment expands the firm’s sustainable investing research and data analysis capabilities, according to the statement.
Harden, who assumes his new role in November, was a data scientist on JP Morgan AM’s trading research team. Since joining the firm in 2011, he held a number of roles managing data analytics.
VONTOBEL BOLSTERS EM FIXED INCOME CAPABILITY
Vontobel has strengthened its emerging markets income team with four new appointments across its Hong Kong and Zurich offices, including a strategist/portfolio manager and three new analysts.
In Hong Kong, Cosmo Zhang and Pius Yang Xue joined the firm as research analysts, according to a statement from the firm.
Zhang has 20 years of industry experience and previously spent five years at Invesco, where he was sector team lead of analysts, covering Asia ex-Japan corporate credits for the firm’s global fixed income teams.
Xue has 10 years of experience and was previously at Dymon Asia, where he was a senior investment analyst focused on Greater China high yield, stressed and distressed credit.
In Zurich, Carlos De Sousa has been appointed as an emerging markets strategist and portfolio manager, while Nuria Jorba Arimany joined Vontobel as a research analyst.
Before Vontobel, De Sousa was the lead emerging markets economist at Oxford Economics, responsible for thematic macro and strategy research on emerging and frontier markets with a focus on distressed sovereigns and EM-wide global trends.
Arimany has at least 20 years of investment experience, 16 of which was spent on emerging markets corporate bonds. She previously spent 10 years at Union Bancaire Privee (UBP), where she was head of emerging markets corporate credit research. She has a deep understanding of Latin America and the region’s domestic and geopolitical dynamics, as well as solid experience in various sectors and integrated ESG research, according to the statement.
“Emerging fixed income is a strategic market for us at Vontobel, and this is a team in which we will continue to invest heavily going forward by adding further outstanding talent,” Simon Lue Fong, head of fixed income, said in the statement.
Vontobel’s emerging markets fixed income team comprises 14 investment professionals based in Zurich and Hong Kong. Investment strategies include emerging markets corporate debt, government debt in hard currency including a sustainable solution, local currency sovereign debt with an ESG approach as well as emerging blend strategies, according to the statement.
Vontobel’s fixed income boutique manages CHF 24bn ($26.94bn) in client assets by offering solutions in global credit, global bonds, emerging markets and flexible strategies.
In total, Vontobel managed CHF 280.2bn in client assets globally as of the end of June.
BROADRIDGE NAMES APAC COO
Fintech firm Broadridge Financial Solutions has appointed David Ingleson as chief operating officer for Asia-Pacific, effectively immediately, according to a press statement.
Based in Singapore, he will oversee regional implementation for Broadridge, direct operations and support of capital markets clients in the region and focus on further investing in the firm’s local market expertise and capabilities. He will report to Samir Pandiri, president of Broadridge International.
Ingleson has 15 years of leadership experience establishing and growing financial and technology service businesses in Asia-Pacific. Before Broadridge, he held leadership roles at BNY Mellon and was most recently head of Asia-Pacific for Eagle Investment Systems, a fintech subsidiary of the firm, and previously was head of service delivery.
Broadridge Financial is a provider of investor communications and technology-driven solutions to banks, broker-dealers, asset and wealth managers and corporate issuers.
TMF HIRES FOR FUND SERVICES IN CHINA
TMF Group, which provides compliance and administrative services, has appointed Derek Chen as a new senior executive to accelerate the growth of the firm’s funds business in China.
He joins as commercial director for fund services and will focus on fund administration and investment structuring, with the goal of developing and maintaining a network of prospects and business development opportunities. He will report to Andrew O’Shea, global head of fund services.
Previously, Chen was a vice president at Apex Fund Service and has experience working within private and sovereign wealth funds, according to a statement from the firm.
TMF’s fund services include a suite of fund administration and related services across private equity, real assets (including real estate), infrastructure, debt and venture capital.
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