From the press release desk this week…
People moves
Natixis Investment Managers has appointed a team of senior global thematic portfolio managers from Pictet Asset Management. They are: Arnaud Bisschop, who was the co-manager of the Pictet Water Fund; Frederic Dupraz, who was the co-manager of the Pictet Security Fund; and Nolan Hoffmeyer, who was the co-manager of the Pictet Digital Fund. With their appointments, Natixis IM will be offering investors thematic opportunities in water, safety, artificial intelligence and robotics. Natixis IM also expects two more managers to join in early 2019…
Aberdeen Standard Investments has appointed Thibaut Ferret as senior solutions director for Asia-Pacific. Based in Hong Kong, Ferret will be responsible for delivering customised investment solutions to institutional investors in Asia. In this newly-created role, he will report to Ian McDonald, London-based global head of strategic client solutions. Before ASI, Ferret was head of asset-liability management at Sun Life Hong Kong and regional head of investments for Axa Asia…
Morningstar Investment Management in Australia, which provides discretionary investment management and advisory services, has named Matt Wacher as chief investment officer for Asia-Pacific. Wacher, who will assume his role in January, will replace Andrew Lill, who will focus on his new role as CIO for Americas. Before Morningstar IM, Wacher was the CIO at Cambooya, a family office fund in Australia that manages private assets. Additionally, Jody Fitzgerald has joined Morningstar IM as head of institutional portfolio management and solutions…
Institutional investors
Asia-Pacific has become the largest region in terms of assets managed by institutional investors, which totalled $6.7trn, accounting for 36% of the total assets managed by the top 100 largest institutional investors in the world, according to a report by Towers Willis Watson. Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund continues to become the largest asset owner in the world, managing $1.4trn in assets…
Asia’s largest asset owners
Source: Towers Willis Watson
ESG
Insight Investment, an investment manager that is part of BNY Mellon Investment Management, has developed a country rating model to explore how ESG factors affect sovereign debt portfolios. The rating model links sustainability and individual country risk and is a response to increased client interest in ESG portfolios…
Fintech
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has proposed the establishment of pre-defined sandboxes, known as “sandbox express”, which will enable firms that intend to conduct regulated activities to embark on experiments more quickly, without needing to go through the existing bespoke sandbox application and approval process. The sandbox express is suitable for activities where the risks are generally low or well understood and could be contained within the specific pre-defined sandbox. As a start, it will include sandboxes specifically pre-defined for insurance broking, recognised market operators and remittance business…
Astana Financial Services Authority, Astana International Financial Centre Authority and the MAS have signed a tripartite cooperation agreement to boost fintech ties between Singapore and Kazakhstan. Similarly, the Singaporean regulator and the Central Bank of Bahrain have signed a memorandum of understanding to foster innovation in financial services between the two countries…
