HSBC Bank (Singapore)

HSBC Bank (Singapore) has appointed of Wong Kee Joo as executive director to its board following his appointment as chief executive of HSBC Singapore on 1 June 2021.

Winston Ngan, who has retired as a Partner of Ernst & Young Singapore (EY), was also named as an Independent non-executive director and chairman of the audit committee.

Mukhtar Hussain, chairman of HSBC Bank (Singapore) and group general manager, head of belt & road initiative and business corridors, Asia Pacific, said: "Our commitment to Singapore as a strategic priority market for HSBC remains unchanged. As we head into our next phase of growth, Kee Joo's extensive regional experience in wholesale banking will further strengthen our ability to tap

HSBC corporate clients' personal banking and wealth needs for growth.

"While Winston's deep knowledge of Singapore's banking regulatory requirements will ensure that we have a robust audit framework and the necessary internal controls in place. One that not only supports accelerated business growth, but also enable us to nimbly mitigate new challenges as our business evolves and undergoes transformation."

Highvern Group

Highvern Trustees has expanded its family office proposition with the appointment of a new head of family office services, Richard Joynt.

He moved into the fiduciary services sector some 20 years ago when he set up and for over a decade ran a successful single family office in Jersey, migrating the family office into a multi-family office and subsequently became an executive director of that business.

Naomi Rive, group director and head of private wealth at Highvern, said: "Highvern has over 50 years' experience of working with some of the world's most discerning wealthy families and, since becoming independent in 2016, we have seen real growth in the family office sector where our services are now pivotal to a large number of families with complex wealth planning needs.

Richard has a natural aptitude for working with these clients and both his single and multi-family office experience means that he can add real value to the families that he works with."

BlueBay

Specialist fixed income manager BlueBay Asset Management has appointed Michael Wolfram as head of institutional sales Germany & Austria.

Based in Munich, Wolfram will report to Viola Patock, head of Northern Europe.

He was most recently a director for Germany, Austria & Switzerland at bfinance focused on business development and relationship management of its pension, insurer, church and endowment clients based out of Munich.

Patock said, "We are delighted to be strengthening our physical presence in Northern Europe with the addition of Michael. He brings a wealth of knowledge with him that will support our client-focused efforts.

"As we continue to expand our presence, Michael's appointment is one of many at BlueBay that will allow us to look further afield and continue to expand into new markets, with innovative products and services."

Lombard Odier

Lombard Odier Investment Managers has named June Chua as a Hong Kong -based portfolio manager in the Asian/ Emerging Markets equities team.

She was previously head of Asian equities at Harvest Global, where she was Head of Asian Equities.

Arnaud d'Aligny also joins as a portfolio Manager for European equities, based in Geneva, having previously been partner and lead portfolio manager of sustainability-focused strategies investing in all-cap European equities at Sycomore Asset Management..

Didier Rabattu, Global Head of Equities at LOIM, said: "Our global equities franchise is built upon solid foundations; a strong regional focus on Switzerland, Europe and Asia, and continued growth in thematics and sustainability. We are delighted to welcome June and Arnaud to LOIM. They bring invaluable expertise in managing sustainably-orientated strategies across key markets and we look forward to their contribution"

Phoenix Group

Phoenix Group has hired Michela Bariletti as new chief credit officer within its asset management team.

In this newly created role, she will lead the Credit Research and Internal Credit Ratings team for all asset strategies pursued by Phoenix Group, which will have capabilities to assign internal ratings to private credit and illiquid assets.

Previously she was at Pension Insurance Corporation where she served as Head of Ratings and Credit Research. Prior to that, Michela spent 14 years at S&P Global Ratings, London, most recently as Senior Director, Infrastructure Ratings - EMEA Analytical Head, managing a team of 20 analysts and a portfolio of over 150 issuers in the infrastructure sector.

Michael Eakins, chief investment officer, Phoenix Group, said: "Michela brings with her vast financial ratings expertise, which will be key to Phoenix as we continue to grow our investment portfolio in different asset classes. Her twenty years of experience within the financial services industry will help us significantly to build out our existing credit ratings framework to be market leading."

Manulife Investment Management

Manulife Investment Management has made a raft of appointments to its emerging market fixed-income (EM) organisation to align capabilities globally and integrate the firm's deep local resources worldwide.

Endre Pedersen has been promoted to a new position as CIO, global emerging market fixed income.

"Manulife Investment Management has operated in emerging markets for more than a century," said John Addeo, CIO, global fixed income, Manulife Investment Management.

"Today, we have one of the largest fixed-income teams in Asia, and this enhancement, under Endre's leadership, will result in one of the largest and most experienced teams in the industry. This local insight—paired with deep investment expertise—has become increasingly important to investors facing a scarcity of income opportunities. The steps we are taking with our emerging markets team help expand its reach and resources and further support this crucial capability within our investment organization."

The firm also announced several other promotions to support the new structure:

• Fiona Cheung, previously responsible for the firm's credit activities in Asia ex-Japan, has been promoted to head of global EM fixed-income research.
• Don Tucker, head of US fixed-income research, has been promoted to head of global developed market fixed-income research.
• Joseph Huang has been promoted to head of South Asia fixed-income research.
• Nick Pena, managing director, senior credit analyst, US fixed income, has been promoted to sector leader of the EM fixed-income research team.

Crestbridge

Crestbridge has appointed London-based James Watts as director, head of client operations within its institutional segment.

Prior to joining Crestbridge, his previous roles included COO of Augentius, a leading global provider of alternative investment solutions to Private Equity and Real Estate Funds.

Michael Johnson, group head of institutional services, said: "His significant experience will be invaluable in maintaining our client centric approach and commitment to service excellence, as we continue to grow and support our global client base,"