STORIES YOU MAY HAVE MISSED THIS WEEK
SFC reminder
In light of the current market conditions, Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission has stepped up the monitoring of SFC-authorised funds. In a circular released by the regulator, it said that managers are expected to “fully cooperate with the SFC on the heightened reporting requirements”. These include keeping investors informed at all times and to immediately report to the SFC “any untoward circumstances relating to the funds under their management”, ensure that all assets of the funds are “fairly and accurately valued in good faith and in the best interests of investors”, and “exercise due care, skill and diligence in managing liquidity of funds”…
People moves
HSBC Global Asset Management has made a number of changes to the structure of its global investments team. They include:
-Vis Nayar, who has been deputy equity chief investment officer (CIO) and head of systematic equities for the past five years, will take on the new combined position of European and UK CIO, subject to regulatory approval
-Guillaume Rabult, currently CIO for France, will take on Nayar’s responsibility for systematic equities as quant equity CIO. He will combine this role with his current responsibility for investment process research.
-Joseph Little, multi-asset co-CIO and global chief strategist, and Jean-Charles Bertrand, multi-asset co-CIO, will divide their responsibilities to create a dedicated focus on two key areas. Little will focus on investment strategy, leading the macro and strategy team as the global chief strategist, while Bertrand will become the sole multi-asset CIO.
-Jonathan Curry will add responsibility for the Americas to his US and liquidity CIO roles
-Ian Barnett will move into the newly created role of head of CIO office, where he will oversee the investment process across all the firm’s geographies. He was previously head of global portfolio analytics and design.
-Melissa McDonald, global head of product equities and responsible investment, will be taking on the new role as head of responsible investment and will now sit within the global investments teams.
All roles mentioned above will report to Joanna Munro, who was appointed global CIO in September…
First State Investments has made two hires to its global product team. Hendrie Koster has been named as Sydney-based head of investment product research and assurance, while Kerry Baronet has been appointed as London-based head of pooled fund management. Koster was previously Nikko Asset Management’s head of product and strategy for Australia, while Baronet was First State’s head of product for Europe, Middle East and Africa, where she was responsible for the UK and Irish pooled fund platforms sold across the region…
Funds
UOB Asset Management has launched the United Sustainable Credit Income Fund targeting retail investors in Singapore. The bond fund focuses on bonds from companies that are making progress against the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The fund invests into the RobecoSAM SDG Credit Income Fund, which was only available to institutional investors and high net worth individuals. The fund also aims for stable income through monthly dividend distributions…
Investors globally have been bullish on hedge funds this year, allocating approximately $14.78bn into the industry in February, bringing year-to-date flows to $21.96bn, according to an Evestment report. A majority of hedge fund strategies had positive flows this year, led by multi-strategy ($10.57bn) and long/short equity hedge funds ($5.4bn). On the flipside, macro strategies continue to face difficulties, with net outflows of $6.06bn…
IPOs
Despite the global impact of Covid-19 on the capital markets globally, the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) ranked number one amongst global bourses by deal numbers during the first quarter, according to an EY report. In Hong Kong, IPO activity on the HKEX saw a modest rise of 6% in deal numbers compared with the first quarter last year. However, there were no IPOs from Chinese companies on the exchange in February. Some IPO candidates have chosen to postpone their plans while the IPO candidates unaffected by the current volatility will continue to prepare for their debut this year, using webcasts for roadshows and adapting pre-launch activities to reflect the current environment…
