The company has hired experienced executives in sales and business development for Japan and Korea, the UK and Europe and the US, while bolstering its operation that services financial institutions in China and enhancing its global strategic and communications team.
Harvest is looking to build up its business focusing on both international clients looking to invest in China and Asia, as well as mainland Chinese financial institutions wishing to allocate capital globally, including in to the UK and Europe.
“We want to create a global asset manager,” said Ashley Dale, HGI’s chief business development officer and chief marketing officer in an interview with International Adviser.
Domestic giant
HGI’s parent company, Harvest Fund Management (HFM), is the largest institutional asset manager in China with over $100bn (£76.5bn, €89.6bn) in assets under management and 200 investment professionals across the mainland. It also has an investment team in Hong Kong of 30 looking not only at H-shares and ADRs, but also Asia -ex-Japan products.
“We are keen to build our business development and distribution presence on the ground globally with high quality personnel,” Dale said.
The new hires are:
- Ruiqi Wang, executive director, head of China Sales, who will develop business for international clients wishing to invest in Chinese markets as well as liaising with mainland financial institutions wishing to conduct business globally. Ruiqi was previously at Deutsche Bank and she is based in Hong Kong.
- Yuki Nishio, vice president, head of Japan and Korea Sales, will focus on key institutional and wholesale clients. Previously, Yuki worked at Mirae Asset Daewoo Securities. She has over 10 years of experience covering corporate and institutional clients. Yuki is based in Hong Kong.
- Sirinda Flik, regional business development manager, will focus on distribution for European clients and is based in London, United Kingdom. She has eight years of experience in the asset management industry, including at Legal and General Investment Management and Willis Towers Watson.
- Angela Wang, vice president, business development, will focus on distribution for US clients and is based in New York. Angela has over eight years experience in institutional sales. She previously worked at HGI in London, as well as at BOCI and BoA Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong.
- Joyce Lui, vice president for marketing and business development, will coordinate strategic marketing and communications activities with HGI’s global sales teams, as well as providing media and PR liaison with outside agencies. She is based in Hong Kong.
Dale said: “Many of our clients are multi-centre now and they deserve a joined-up service across their offices. As we prepare to expand our fund offering and develop distribution channels globally, these new sales hires will be essential to unlocking new investment in key geographies.”
He added the new team will be targeting mainly institutional and private bank clients but is looking at international life companies.
Harvest Global Investments had assets under management of $110bn as of 31 December 2016 with more than 50 million investors worldwide.
The parent company, Beijing-based Harvest Fund Management (HFM), was set up in 1999 with state-owned China Credit Trust holding a 40% stake and Deutsche Asset Management and Lixin Investment each owning a 30% stake.
