AEGON AM PREPS QDLP QUALIFICATION WITH GM APPOINTMENT
Aegon Asset Management has appointed Franky Tam as general manager and legal representative of its Shanghai-based wholly foreign-owned enterprise (WFOE). He assumed his role on 1 March and reports to Mabel Cho, the firm’s regional head of Asia, according to a statement from the firm.
Tam’s appointment follows the WFOE’s establishment in July last year, which is now preparing to apply for the qualified domestic limited partnership (QDLP) licence. The QDLP qualification allows foreign firms to raise funds domestically and sell offshore traditional and alternative investors to Chinese institutions and high-net-worth individuals.
In his new role, Tam will initially focus on the completion of the license registration with the Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) and the launch of a QDLP fund.
Tam joined Aegon AM in March 2019 as a sales director for China, working with the firm’s team in Hong Kong. Before that, he was the Shanghai-based vice president of Neuberger Berman’s China institutional and retail business, where he helped the firm implement its China onshore and offshore strategy.
“[Tam’s] appointment and his role in establishing a QDLP WFOE is the next step in our expansion in China,” Cho said in the statement.
“We have strong growth ambitions for the region and this new entity will enhance our ability to bring our world-class investment strategies to Chinese investors in China.”
Aegon AM has had a presence in China since 2008 via its public fund management joint venture, Aegon-Industrial Fund Management Company, in which it has a 49% stake. Meanwhile, the Aegon Group had been in China since 2003, with a life insurance joint venture through Aegon Tsinghua Tongfang, according to the statement.
Globally, the firm managed $475bn as of the end of 2020 and has 1,200 employees, 380 of whom are investment professionals.
BNP PARIBAS WEALTH APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF CHINA MARKET
BNP Paribas Wealth Management has appointed Kevin King as its new head of China market, effective immediately.
He will replace Philip Wong, who is retiring, according to sources familiar with the matter.
King is responsible for driving the firm’s China growth strategy and will oversee an expanding team of relationship managers, according to a statement from the firm.
Based in Hong Kong, he will report to Michael Yong-Haron, head of wealth management for North Asia.
King has held senior China market roles at Citi Private Bank over the past decade, most recently as global market manager.
LOMBARD ODIER IM MAKES THREE HIRES IN ASIA
Lombard Odier Investment Managers (LOIM) has made four hires – three for its Asian and emerging markets (EM) equities platform and one for its sustainability equity franchise, according to a press statement.
Joining the Asian and EM equities platform this March are Henry Zhang, Ashley Chung and Faye Gao. The Asian and EM equities platform has assets of nearly $2bn and is composed of three core strategies: Asia High Conviction, EM High Conviction and China High Conviction.
Zhang has been named as a Hong Kong-based portfolio manager for the China High Conviction strategy. Before LOIM, he was a portfolio manager at Harvest Global Investments.
Chung and Gao, meanwhile, are sector specialists and will provide support to the firm’s Asian and EM equities team.
Based in Singapore, Chung joined LOIM as an analyst and junior portfolio manager from Schroders, where she was responsible for conducting in-depth thematic analysis on the technology sector on behalf of institutional clients. Gao, who is based in Hong Kong, has experience in analysing the financials and property sectors from her previous roles at Harvest Global and AB Bernstein Research.
Meanwhile, Alina Donets joined LOIM’s sustainability equity franchise in London, which now manages nearly $2bn in AUM, following the launches of the Climate Transition and Natural Capital strategies. Donets is a portfolio manager for the Natural Capital strategy, which was developed in partnership with the Circular Bioeconomy Alliance, a group established under the Sustainable Markets Initiative set up by the Prince of Wales.
Donets was at Allianz Global Investors, where she helped expand the firm’s sustainability-focused product line.
As of the end of December, LOIM had an AUM of CHF 63bn ($68.13bn), according to the statement.
FUNDAMENTAL MEDIA NAMES NEW HEAD OF APAC
Fundamental Media, which provides media, marketing and tech solutions to asset management firms, has promoted Alex Page as its new head for Asia-Pacific, according to a statement.
He replaced Rebekka Kristin, who left the firm in April last year.
As head of Apac, Page will be responsible for key projects, including accelerating digital innovation, growth, client development and improving network management and communications.
He joined Fundamental at the end of 2015 from MEC (Wavemaker), where he gained financial services and agency experience as part of the international team managing the media planning and buying for Blackrock and iShares, the statement said.
Since joining the firm, Page has worked for key clients in the EMEA region before relocating first to Hong Kong and then Sydney at the end of 2020.
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