STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK
People moves
Schroders has appointed Lily Choh as deputy CEO for Singapore, according to a statement from the firm. In this newly created role, Choh will manage the day-to-day running of the firm’s Southeast Asia business. She will continue to lead the distribution teams in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and will also retain her current role as Asia-Pacific head of institutional, working alongside the country institutional heads. She will continue to report to Susan Soh, country head of Singapore, who was also appointed this month to be co-head of Asia-Pacific…
As part of wider changes in the firm’s ESG division, Manulife has promoted Eric Nietsch as head of ESG, Asia; he was previously director for ESG integration and research in the region. Meanwhile, London-based Peter Mennie has been appointed global head of ESG research and integration.
Business news
Taipei-based Cathay Securities Investment Trust has launched the Cathay Cyber Security Index ETF in Taiwan. The product tracks the performance of Nasdaq’s ISE Cyber Security Index, which comprises of companies that are involved in providing cyber security technology and services. The firm also previously launched technology-focused ETFs, which include the Cathay PHLX Semiconductor ETF last year and the Cathay Nasdaq AI & Robotics ETF in 2018. Cathay Securities is one of the largest asset managers in Taiwan, managing $26.9bn in assets, which include mutual funds, ETFs, and segregated managed accounts…
HSBC launched its enhanced “wealth portfolio intelligence service” to help its HNWI clients gain better understanding of their portfolios during these volatile times. It apparently includes similar tools to those used by institutional investors to analyse risk exposure across asset classes…
Alternatives
Professional fund buyers globally believe that alternatives will play an important role in the current market environment, according to a survey conducted by Natixis Investment Managers to 400 distributors, including private banks, insurance and retail platforms. Around 82% of those surveyed indicated that the ongoing environment of low-yielding bonds will trigger a shift towards alternatives. Almost half also said that private assets, including infrastructure, real estate and private debt will play a more prominent role in their portfolios…
ESG
A majority of asset management firms in the mainland are still lacking an official ESG policy, according to a BNP Paribas Asset Management report, citing data from the Asset Management Association of China. Of the 82 respondents surveyed by the Amac, 90% agree that ESG issues are a fundamental part of the investment management process. However, while nearly 60% of the firms surveyed indicated that while they are considering integrating ESG factors in the investment process, they are still lacking an official policy. So far, only 1.2% have established an ESG strategy at a firm level…
