UBS Asset Management appoints Desmond Ng as Asia Pacific head
UBS Asset Management has tapped Desmond Ng from Allianz Global Investors as region head for Asia Pacific, based in Hong Kong.
The appointment is effective October 1. Ng will be responsible for driving the firm’s Asia Pacific strategy, work with teams across the region to leverage investment capabilities to cater to clients’ needs, and play a role in expanding collaboration with joint venture partners in China, UBS says in a statement on June 19.
He will also be a member of the UBS asset management team and UBS Asia Pacific management team. He reports to Aleksandar Ivanovic, president of UBS Asset Management, and Iqbal Khan, co-president of global wealth management and president of UBS Asia Pacific.
Ng, who has more than 28 years of experience in the asset management industry, was head of Asia Pacific at Allianz Global Investors. Before that, he was chief executive officer for Greater China at US asset manager Invesco and has also held senior roles at J. P. Morgan Asset Management.
J. Safra Sarasin taps J. P. Morgan private bankers for Asia business
Switzerland’s J. Safra Sarasin has tapped May Hsu from J. P. Morgan Private Bank as Asia chairman to succeed Mignonne Cheng, who has been named executive chairman for Asia.
The Swiss bank has also hired two other seasoned private bankers from the US private bank, Guo Quan Ng and Lawrence Lee, as part of its efforts to expand in Asia.
J. Safra Sarasin announced their appointments in a statement on June 19 when they became effective. The trio will focus on driving the bank’s business in Greater China.
The statement does not specify Ng and Lee’s titles, but Lee’s updated LinkedIn profile shows that he is a managing director at the Swiss bank.
Hsu has nearly 40 years of wealth management experience and was vice chairman for Asia at J. P. Morgan Private Bank.
Ng worked at the US bank for most of his 16-plus years in the financial industry, and Lee worked there for two-thirds of his nearly 30 years in the industry.
Schroders names duo for top Asia roles
UK asset manager Schroders has appointed Jason Yu as Hong Kong head and Gopi Mirchandani as head of client group for Asia.
Yu’s appointment is pending regulatory approval while Mirchandani succeeds Chris Durack who will move into a newly-created role as chair for Asia until his departure at the end of the year, Schroders says in a statement on June 16.
Yu was most recently the firm’s Asia head of multi asset and fixed income management, and Mirchandani was head of North Asia, according to their LinkedIn profiles. Both are based in Hong Kong.
Japan’s Tokio Marine makes senior appointments in Singapore
Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore has appointed Joanne Yeo as chief financial officer, and Koh Wei Lee as chief executive officer of Tokio Marine Financial Advisers Singapore.
Yeo joins the Japanese insurer from Pacific Life Re Singapore where she was deputy CEO, and has also worked at AIA Singapore as chief actuary, according to news reports of the appointments on June 12.
She will lead financial strategy and long-term planning at Tokio Marine Life Insurance Singapore.
Koh, a former CEO of SingLife Financial Advisers, the advisory unit of Singapore Life, will focus on strengthening Tokio Marine Financial Advisers’ distribution and growth strategy.
