From the press release desk this week…
People moves
Principal Global Investors has appointed Xin Shao as Beijing-based managing director for China. Xin will be responsible for Principal Global’s profile in the market, including working with the firm’s affiliates within and outside China. Last year, the firm said that it plans to increase its stake in its China joint venture, CCB Principal Asset Management…
Janus Henderson Investors has appointed Spencer Seto as Hong Kong-based head of institutional sales for Asia (ex-Japan) and Serena Sim as Singapore-based head of wholesale distribution for Southeast Asia. Both will report to Scott Steele, head of distribution for Asia. Before Janus Henderson, Seto was at PGIM in Singapore, where he was senior vice president in the client advisory group covering institutional clients. Sim was at BNP Paribas Asset Management, where she was head of wholesale distribution for Singapore…
Man GLG, the discretionary investment management business of Man Group, has appointed three portfolio managers to its long-short equity team. Nick Longcroft, who will be based in Hong Kong, will focus on technology, media and telecommunications. Previously, Longcroft was at Nezu Asia Capital Management, where he was the lead portfolio manager of the firm’s technology media and telecoms strategy. The other two portfolio managers are Matteo De Paulis and Julien Sallmard, who will be joining the London team to focus on holding company arbitrage and European consumer, respectively…
Jupiter Asset Management has added to its multi-asset team with the appointment of Mark Richards as a strategist, reporting to Talib Sheikh, head of strategy for multi-asset. Richards will focus on the Jupiter Flexible Income Fund, which was launched in September. Before Jupiter, Richards was a multi-asset strategist at JP Morgan Asset Management…
BNP Paribas Securities Services has appointed Mostapha Tahiri as Asia-Pacific head, effective February. Tahiri will replace Philippine Benoît, who will relocate to Paris to take up his new role as head of strategic business development and transformation. Before his appointment, Tahiri was the firm’s head of institutional investors and head of digital transformation for Asia-Pacific…
Blackrock outflows
Blackrock saw net outflows in Asia-Pacific last year, amounting to $10.3bn, with net outflows of $16.5bn during the fourth quarter, according to its latest quarterly report. In addition, EMEA saw net outflows last year ($23.3bn). But both outflows were offset by net inflows of $156.9bn in the Americas. In total, the firm’s AUM stood at $5.98trn, which is 5% lower than in 2017…
Alternatives
Around 56.7% of institutional investors globally plan to increase their allocations to Asia-Pacific real estate over the next two years, according to a joint survey conducted by Inrev, Anrev and Prea. Non-listed real estate funds remain the most popular investment route, with investors indicating they plan to invest $28bn in them. In Asia-Pacific, 50% of investors have indicated their expectation to increase their real estate allocation in the region through that route…
China bonds
Global qualified investors can now begin to trade onshore Chinese bonds via the Bloomberg Terminal. Bloomberg is connected to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System (CFETS) which will offer access to both China’s interbank bond market (CIMB) and Bond Connect. “The global financial community has been looking forward to these additional trading solutions,” Tu Hong, chief investment officer at Bank of Communications, said in a statement. “These trading solutions will not only provide additional avenues for foreign investors, but will also simplify the workflow for market participants, creating maximum efficiencies…”
