Aegon Asset Management has appointed Franky Tam as general manager and legal representative of its wholly foreign-owned enterprise subsidiary in China.
Tam started the new role on 1 March 2021 in the firm's Shanghai office, reporting into Mabel Cho, regional head of Asia at Aegon AM.
Aegon has long pursued a strategy of growth in the Chinese market and the region has been identified as a key growth market for the business moving forward.[1]
Aegon Group has had a presence in China since 2003 and currently has a life insurance joint venture through Aegon TsingHua TongFang (ATHTF) based in Shanghai, while Aegon Asset Management (Aegon AM) began providing fund products and asset management services to the local domestic market in 2008 via its fund management joint venture Aegon-Industrial Fund Management Company Limited (AIFMC).
Most recently, Aegon AM established a WFOE in July 2020, and is now preparing to apply for a relevant license which allows it to raise funds domestically and sell its range of offshore traditional and alternative investments, overseas equity and bond funds, hedge funds and real estate products to Chinese institutions and high-net-worth investors.
In his new role, Franky Tam will initially focus on the completion of the license registration with Asset Management Association of China (AMAC) and the launch of a Qualified Domestic Limited Partnership (QDLP) fund. Operating a QDLP WFOE is the prerequisite to launching an onshore private fund for Chinese high-net-worth and institutional investors to invest in offshore traditional and alternative strategies.
Tam joined Aegon AM in March 2019 as China sales director, working with Aegon AM's team in Hong Kong. Before, he was vice president of China Institutional & Retail Business at Neuberger Berman based in Shanghai, where he helped the firm implement its China onshore and offshore strategy.
Mabel Cho said: "Franky's appointment and his role in establishing a QDLP WFOE is the next step in our expansion in China. We have strong growth ambitions for the region and this new entity will enhance our ability to bring our world class investment strategies to Chinese investors in China."
