HSBC
HSBC Singapore has appointed Priya Kini as head of commercial banking, HSBC Singapore, effective 1 January 2024.
Kini will be responsible for driving further growth and deepening client relationships across the Commercial Banking business in Singapore. Kini succeeds Regina Lee who has been appointed Head of Commercial Banking at Hang Seng Bank.
She joined HSBC in 2001 and has held various leadership positions in key markets including Singapore, Hong Kong, the UK and India.
Kini was appointed to her current role as Head of Global Banking (GB) Singapore in February 2019 where she was responsible for leading coverage and financing solutions for the Bank's major public, corporate and institutional clients.
She will report to Wong Kee Joo, chief executive officer, HSBC Singapore and Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking, South and Southeast Asia, HSBC.
Wong Kee Joo, chief executive, HSBC Singapore said: "Singapore continues to be a key hub for international businesses to expand into the region. Similarly, local businesses are increasingly looking outwards for growth opportunities.
"We are delighted to have Priya take on the new role as her extensive global banking experience and strong track record in driving business growth will enable us to further accelerate our strategy which is built on Singapore as the springboard to Southeast Asia and beyond."
Amanda Murphy, head of commercial banking, South and Southeast Asia, HSBC said: "South and Southeast Asia is an engine of growth for HSBC Group. We're confident that Priya's extensive coverage experience will help accelerate our expansion plans in Singapore and beyond, where we aim to become the region's leading bank for the New Economy, support our clients in the transition to net zero and capture new opportunities from increasing trade and investment flows in and out of South and Southeast Asia."
Matthews (formerly Matthews Asia)
Matthews, a privately owned investment management firm with more than 30 years focused on Global Emerging Markets and Asia, announced that Sean Taylor has joined the firm and will be appointed chief investment officer (CIO), effective January 1, 2024, as part of the firm's long-term succession planning.
A highly experienced CIO and portfolio manager, Taylor has over 25 years of global experience within the investment management industry. He joins Matthews from DWS Group where he was most recently chief investment officer APAC and head of Emerging Markets.
His experience leading investment teams in global and international equities, fixed income, and alternative strategies has earned him a reputation as a highly regarded Emerging Markets portfolio manager. Taylor has been responsible for investment teams located in the US, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Middle East, where he has developed deep partnerships with sovereign wealth groups, pension funds and a wide range of institutional clients.
As Matthews' chief investment officer in 2024, Taylor will lead the firm's San Francisco and Hong Kong-based investment teams and play an important role in continuing to build on Matthews' active partnerships with institutional and professional clients.
He will continue the firm's focus on investment excellence and a culture of collaboration, openness, curiosity and innovation within the team. Partnering closely with the firm's senior leadership team, he will also support Matthews' customized solutions platform that addresses the evolving needs of our clients.
"Sean brings extensive investment leadership to Matthews. In addition to seeking compelling investment performance, he will evolve our investment offering and support our ‘Active Partnership' approach to clients that goes beyond product manufacturing to provide a holistic long-term investment solution," said Cooper Abbott, chief executive officer of Matthews.
"Having led investment teams globally for over 10 years, Sean has a proven track record as a strong transformational leader. Sean is also a highly experienced portfolio manager across Emerging and Developed Markets. Following other recent senior hires by Matthews, Sean's appointment further emphasizes our commitment to building a strong entrepreneurial leadership team that deepens our presence in Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific."
The appointment of Taylor follows a decision by Robert Horrocks, PhD, chief investment officer and portfolio manager to step back from his current leadership responsibilities.
Following a transition period, Robert will step down from his chief investment officer role at the end of 2023 and will remain as a portfolio manager on the Matthews Asian Growth and Income, Matthews Asia Dividend and Matthews Asia ex Japan Total Return Equity Strategies, in addition to working closely with the firm's global clients.
Union Bancaire Privée
Union Bancaire Privée (UBP) announced today that it has aligned its Asset Management sales organisation with its growing structure and ambitions.
In this context, UBP has hired Christian Betzel as head of Wholesale EMEA from 1 October. In addition, Nicolas Delrue is taking on the role of head of institutional sales EMEA on top of his current responsibilities as head of investment specialists.
Finally, Christophe Gantenbein, who joined UBP in January 2023 as global head of Private Markets Institutional Solutions, now leads Private Markets business development. They report to Nicolas Faller, Co-CEO Asset Management.
Nicolas Faller, Co-CEO Asset Management at UBP stated: "The fast-paced industry we are operating in forces us to constantly reassess ourselves and strive for efficiency. We are confident that this organisation by client segment will promote a more granular strategy and enhance our overall capabilities."
Christian Betzel is Head of Wholesale at UBP. He brings 23 years of experience in the asset management industry, primarily in sales and as head of wholesale. He joined UBP on 1 October 2023 from Wellington Management where he headed the Wholesale business for the EMEA region. He previously worked as a sales director at Nordea Asset Management and as a portfolio manager at Bank Schilling.
Nicolas Delrue is Head of Institutional Sales and Head of the Investment Specialists team at UBP, out of Paris. He previously worked as an investment specialist for the convertible bond desk at Fortis investments. From 2005 to 2008 he was investment specialist for the single-strategy hedge fund business at SGAM Alternative Investments. He started his career with analyst positions at the Caisse des Dépots et Consignations and Euronext.
Christophe Gantenbein is Global Head of Private Markets Institutional Solutions at UBP, based in Zurich. He joined UBP in January 2023 after more than twelve years of service to Partners Group where he was a Member of Management in charge of Client Solutions for European institutional clients. Prior to joining Partners Group in 2010, he started his career in investment banking at Credit Suisse in 2005.
Universal Investment
Universal Investment Group has announced Etienne Rougier has been approved by the Luxembourg financial supervisory authority CSSF as country head of the group's Luxembourg office.
Alongside his position as chief operating officer of the group, Rougier will be responsible for the Luxembourg business, which has seen substantial growth in recent years. His particular focus will be the continued integration of UI efa, following its acquisition last year.
The Luxembourg platform is pivotal to Universal Investment Group's growth strategy to offer institutional investors and asset managers best-in-class services and central to its position as a leading European fund service platform and Super ManCo.
Due to the strong client demand as well as the recent acquisition of UI efa in November 2022, the Luxembourg business now has a combined workforce of more than 500 employees, with a combined EUR 294 billion in assets under administration.
Rougier will be succeeding Sofia Harrschar, who has been the Luxembourg country head since 2021, alongside her role as Universal Investment's head of alternative investments & structuring. Given the rapid growth and increasing demands of this division globally, Harrschar will now be dedicated to expanding the alternative investments business, including the development of additional client solutions with her team.
Rougier joined Universal Investment Group as chief operating officer in April 2023 and is based in Luxembourg. He is responsible for Technology, Operations and Change Management at group level, and has been tasked with driving and transforming the business to support its overall growth strategy, with specific focus on the growth of the Luxembourg fund hub.
He began his career with AXA Investment Managers, where he oversaw major corporate reorganisation projects, most notably the outsourcing of AXA IM operations in Europe.
He was named global head of change management in 2005. He subsequently relocated to London to establish the multi-manager boutique Architas, a new asset management firm for AXA Group, where he served as COO for five years. Rougier later joined Alliance Bernstein in 2013, where he worked for almost ten years in a variety of management positions.
He was in charge of client services, business development, and the execution of tailored services for insurers in these markets as the head of EMEA and Asia insurance.
David Blumer, executive chairman of the Universal Investment Group, said: "With more than two decades experience in the asset management industry, Etienne will drive the continuous development of our Luxembourg platform, which is core to Universal Investment's growth strategy.
"At the same time, we would like to thank Sofia Harrschar for her significant contribution to the Luxembourg platform, which has more than doubled in AUA under her tenure. As the Alternative Investments & Structuring division continues to expand globally, we are pleased that Sofia will remain a key driver of Universal Investment's future growth."
GAM
Flavio Cereda has joined GAM as Co-Investment Manager for GAM's Luxury Brands investment strategy. He will be part of the European Equity team led by Niall Gallagher, Investment Director of the European Equity funds. Flavio joined GAM on 9 October and will be based in London.
He has over 30 years of investment experience in the luxury sector. He has deep knowledge of the brands, their supply chains, distributors and retailers across all markets as well as insights into the sector informed by multi-year social media trend tracking.
Cereda has a comprehensive understanding of the Asian market, and in particular China, with a long history of site visits and an extensive network of high-profile local contacts.
He also has a track record of working on twelve IPOs in the sector including Moncler, Brunello Cucinelli, MyTheresa and Ferragamo.
Prior to joining GAM, he had been head of Luxury Goods Research at Jefferies International since 2017. His previous experience includes eleven years at Bank of America Merrill Lynch where he was managing director EMEA Equity Research, five years at Lazard Capital Markets where he was Director of Research.
Niall Gallagher, investment director European Equities at GAM, said: "I am delighted to welcome Flavio to our team. With his decades of experience in the luxury sector his insight will be invaluable to our clients and we look forward to growing and developing this strategy further."
Cereda said: "I am thrilled to join GAM, in particular to leverage my expertise to work on one of the few actively managed products that focuses on the exciting luxury space which is set to continue to remain the most resilient and fastest-growing segment in the global consumer space."
Manulife Investment Management
Manulife Investment Management has appointed Kenny Lam as chief investment officer and head of transactions, Asia Pacific Real Estate, effective 4 October.
In his new role, Lam will be responsible for expanding the team's geographical footprint in Asia Pacific, managing Manulife Investment Management's real estate portfolio, identifying and investing in new real estate investment opportunities.
"We are pleased to welcome Kenny back to our team, and we look forward to his contributions in the continuous growth of our Asia Pacific real estate business. Kenny will play a key role in expanding our investment offerings in Asia, a market of enormous importance in our global real estate growth strategy," said Marc Feliciano, Global Head of Real Estate, Private Markets, Manulife Investment Management, whom Kenny will report into.
Kenny first joined Manulife Investment Management in 2017 as head of asia real estate investments, after which he took on the role of chief investment officer (Strategic Investment) at Link REIT in 2022.
Lam said: "I am delighted to rejoin the firm and contribute to the transformation of the Manulife Investment Management real estate platform to help investors achieve their long-term financial objectives.
"Through the expansion of the team, we look forward to bringing new solutions that better leverage our global capabilities in capturing market opportunities and meeting clients' evolving needs. Asia Pacific possesses significant opportunities in the private real estate market, given the rapid business and demographic evolutions in the region, and could generate the types of long-term values that our clients would expect from an international investment manager."
PGIM Investments
PGIM Investments, part of PGIM, the $1.27trn global investment management business of Prudential Financial, has appointed Dominick Carlino as global head of Alternative Investments.
In this newly created role, Carlino will be responsible for driving the continued development and distribution of alternative investments, tailored to wealth management needs around the globe. He will report to Stuart Parker, president and CEO of PGIM Investments.
"Dominick's deep understanding and experience in the alternatives space will add tremendous value to our business as we continue to extend PGIM's full array of high-quality private capabilities to our financial intermediary partners and their high-net-worth clients," said Parker.
Carlino brings more than 20 years of experience in alternatives distribution across asset and wealth management. Most recently, he served as managing director, head of alternative investments distribution at Merrill Lynch. Prior to his 10 years at Merrill Lynch, Carlino held various business development and distribution roles at AlphaOne Capital Partners, Morgan Stanley, and Susquehanna International Group.
"Given the current market environment, advisors are increasingly seeking strategies that offer uncorrelated alpha, true diversification and return enhancement within their clients' portfolios. I am thrilled to join PGIM to help meet this growing demand for access to institutional alternative investments and to support our wealth management partners in growing their business," said Carlino.
Bedell Cristin
Bedell Cristin has recognised the significant efforts and achievements of several of its staff through a series of promotions across business and support lines in the Cayman Islands, Jersey and London.
Daniel Altneu, who joined the firm in 2013, has been promoted to Partner in the International Private Client Team in the Cayman Islands
He offers a full private client service covering every aspect of immigration, residency, trusts and wealth structuring, estate planning, probate and family law.
He advises high-net-worth individuals and companies on a variety of immigration issues and has extensive experience of assisting persons of independent means, families and businesses with relocation to the Cayman Islands.
Sonia Shah becomes managing associate in the Litigation team in Jersey. She joined the firm in March 2016 having qualified with Gordon Dadds LLP in London. Her practice involves advising leading onshore law firms, fiduciaries and high net worth individuals in relation to trust, commercial, insolvency and regulatory matters.
In the Jersey Financial Services Law team based in London, Nkechi Hokstad has been promoted to managing associate. Nkechi joined the firm in January having qualified with Clifford Chance LLP in London, with a wide range of experience dealing with banking and finance and corporate and commercial matters, particularly in relation to acquisition finance, corporate advisory work and private funds.
There have also been promotions in the business support teams with Sarah Ferguson promoted to deputy head of ICT and Ebony Parker promoted to senior compliance administrator.
Tim Pearce, global managing partner, Bedell Cristin, said: "I am delighted to announce these promotions across the firm in both the business lines and business support, recognising everyone's professional development as well as their important and increasing contributions towards the success of their teams and the firm. I would like to express my thanks to them all for their commitment and achievements and I wish them every success as they continue to progress their careers with us."
