EFG bolsters its coverage of independent asset managers in Greater China with the hire of a Hong Kong-based head for the segment.
The bank hires Kitty Chou as its North Asia head of independent asset managers (IAM) alongside deputy head Kenneth Chan. According to a statement, the team will also work closely with Kelvin Tan, a senior banker and team leader in Hong Kong, as well as Singapore's IAM team led by Gino Ragazzini.
Existing IAM bankers Karen Ho, Amanda Fong and Alice Chan alongside Chan and Tan will report to Chou who reports to Richard Straus, Hong Kong head of private banking.
«Largest IAM Business in Hong Kong»
Chou has nearly two decades of wealth management experience at UBS where she was most recently its Hong Kong hub head for global financial intermediary markets which covers the IAM segment.
Chan joins with three decades of wealth management experience including, most recently, as UBS’s head of business developments in the same unit as Chou. Chan had also previously worked with Standard Chartered and Pictet where he was its head of IAMs.
«Before joining EFG, [Chou] and her team established one of the first – and the largest – IAM businesses in Hong Kong for UBS,» the statement highlighted.
IAM Restructuring
EFG has also structured its IAM business in Asia to «drive greater efficiency and scalability». Following the reorganization, Chung Lay Ang will support the regional IAM unit and streamline the product offering as a Singapore-based business manager, reporting to Oliver Balmelli, deputy CEO and head of private banking at EFG Singapore branch as well as regional head of IAM.
«Our strong financial results for 2019 confirm that we have successfully shifted our focus from integration to growth and we are attracting seasoned professionals who want to grow with us,» said the bank's deputy head of Asia Pacific Angela Bow.
