From the press release desk this week…
People moves
JP Morgan Asset Management has hired Jennifer Wu as global head of sustainable investing. Based in London, Wu will also lead the firm’s sustainable investing leadership team, which is a global team of senior leaders focused on sharing best practices for sustainable investing across asset classes. Before JP Morgan AM, Wu was at Blackrock, where she was a member of its sustainable investing team…
Standard Chartered Private Bank has appointed Richard Pattle as Dubai-based senior advisor, effective today. He will report to Tracy Clarke, regional CEO for Europe and Americas at Standard Chartered. Pattle was Standard Chartered’s vice chairman for private banking for four years until he left the firm in March last year. At the time, he joined Kef Holdings as its CEO and board member…
Cash still king?
Around 44% of high net worth investors in Hong Kong and Singapore have allocated between 11-20% of their portfolios to cash, according to a survey conducted by LGT. Similarly, 38% hold 11-20% of their portfolios in real estate, with Hong Kong-based HNW investors having a greater overall allocation to this asset class. In terms of managed products such as mutual funds or discretionary mandates, the use of these vehicles is more prevalent in Singapore than Hong Kong…
Source: LGT
Product trends
Eastpsring Investments says it has raised around $353m for its Target Maturity 3-6 year Emerging Market Bond Fund n Taiwan. With fundraising held during January 16-31, the initial public offering was one of the largest target-maturity funds in Taiwan. “We received strong investor interest amid ongoing market volatility, reflecting a growing demand for target income products,” Xavier Meyer, head of distribution, said in a statement. “Investing in emerging market debt now provides investors with a reasonable after-fee yield of around 5-6%,” he added…
London-headquartered Style Analytics, the provider of factor-based analysis software for investment professionals, has opened offices in Shanghai and Paris. The Shanghai office will be led by Nicole Wang, business development manager, who has relocated to Shanghai from London. “We have seen a surge in interest in our platform as institutions are increasingly using factor approaches to support their communication about the drivers of performance and we are pleased to announce that we have won 25 new clients, [including three in Asia-Pacific], in the past 12 months,” Sebastien Roussoutte, CEO of Style Analytics, said in a statement…
Hedge funds globally saw net outflows of $1.66bn in January, according to data from Evestment. However, the positive performance in the month more than offset redemptions, lifting total industry assets to $3.21trn…
Hedge fund flows
Hedge fund performance
Source: Evestment
Fintech
The Investment Management Association of Singapore (IMAS) has launched the Digital Accelerator Programme (DAP), an accelerator and mentorship programme aimed at fintech firms. Up to 10 firms will be shortlisted to take part in the initial programme and will receive travel allowances and professional mentorship from leading institutions. Prizes for up to three final winners will include embarking on a four-week acceleration programme to help them rapidly commercialise their solutions…
