STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK
Company developments and people moves
Union Bancaire Privée’s global AUM rose 10.6% in 2019 to CHF 140.3bn ($144.6bn), according to a statement from the firm. The firm also had net inflows of CHF 4.5bn during the year. Its main drivers include the bank’s businesses in Asia, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. However, net earnings were CHF 187.8m, compared with CHF 202.4m in the previous year. The 2019 result includes the sale of a real estate property in London as well as the payment of $14m to the US Department of Justice as part of the Swiss Bank Programme. The Swiss Bank Programme, which was announced in 2013, provides a path for Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the US…
Natixis Investment Managers has named Gina Huang as managing director and head of China. Based in Beijing, Huang will be responsible for leading and developing Natixis IM’s China business and lead the institutional business development in Hong Kong and Macau. She will report to Fabrice Chemouny, Hong Kong-based head of Asia-Pacific. Previously, Huang was head of China government relations at JP Morgan and has at least 15 years of experience in financial services managing various relationships, including institutional clients and government regulators…
Pimco has appointed Adrian Stewart as head of client management for Asia-Pacific (ex-Japan). Stewart is currently the firm’s head for Australia and New Zealand and will relocate to Hong Kong in the near future, according to a statement from the firm, noting that he will retain responsibility for Australian and New Zealand client-facing relationships. He will report to Kimberley Stafford, Hong Kong-based managing director and head of Asia-Pacific…
Fund flows
Global investors redeemed $16.21bn from hedge funds in December, bringing the full-year 2019 outflows to nearly $100bn, according to an Evestment report. Long/short equity funds led the outflows in 2019 ($45.61bn), followed by multi-strategy hedge funds ($21.19bn). Only two categories had net inflows during the year, which are event-driven and MBS strategies…
New fund structure
The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority have launched the variable capital companies (VCC) framework, according to a joint statement from the regulators. The VCC is a new corporate structure that can be used for investment funds, which should provide fund managers with greater operational flexibility and cost savings. The regulators expect that the new structure will encourage more funds to be domiciled in Singapore…
The GBA
Around 52% of business executives in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau have indicated plans to expand geographically into the Greater Bay Area (GBA), according to a joint survey by KPMG, HSBC and the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce. Gaining access to the GBA market, which has a population of 71 million, is a key motivation for companies to invest in the region for at least 73% of the executives surveyed. Four-fifths of executives also expect the GBA’s economy to grow faster than the rest of mainland China within the next three years, while 56% of respondents expect their revenue in the GBA to rise by at least 20% within the same period…
