Lee will move from Hong Kong to London as part of the promotion, according to several reports.
He will continue with his current responsibilities as global head of discretionary investments for the private bank.
He will also grow the bank’s alternatives business and embed the alternatives product portfolio – which includes hedge funds, real estate and private equity- into the core offering available to private bank clients.
The asset class heads with the alternative investment group will report to Lee. This includes Heath Davies, head of research, Simon Garfield, head of portfolio management, Simon Jennings, head of private equity and Paul Forshaw, head of real estate.
The appointment is subject to regulatory approval.
Until October 2012, Lee ran HSBC’s alternatives business in London, overseeing the management of the advisory hedge fund relationships and discretionary portfolio management team. He then relocated to Hong Kong to head the bank’s alternatives business and, as of June 2014, the newly-combined alternatives and discretionary division.
Before joining HSBC, Lee worked for Credit Agricole Asia Asset Management in Hong Kong.
HSBC Alternative Investments provides hedge fund, private equity and real estate investment services. It serves institutional as well as private clients and currently manages and advises $28bn of client assets.
