Wong, who joins Old Mutual from BNP Investment Partners where she was head of distribution for Hong Kong, China and South East Asia, has been an executive committee member of the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association for the past four years.
She will report to Warren Tonkinson, Old Mutual head of distribution, global.
The hire follows a review of Old Mutual Global Investment’s strategy in the region which saw the departure of its managing director for Asia, Jane Fung.
In a statement released today, Old Mutual – which comprises of Skandia and Old Mutual Global Investors – announced “ambitious growth plans” in the Asian market, focussing on combining the strength of its Skandia International products with the expertise of its Old Mutual Global Investors fund managers “to deliver a broader set of investment solutions designed specifically for customers in Asia”.
To this end, Skandia International has made two new hires focussing on its high net worth teams in the region – Steve Hickman, joins as global head of high net worth while Xerxes Wong has joined the commercial product team as the head of actuary, high net worth, Asia.
Hickman, who will report to sales director for international, Victor France, joins from HSBC in Hong Kong, where, according to Skandia, he played a key role in designing the bank’s high net worth insurance proposition.
Wong joins from American International Assurance in Hong Kong, and has been a fellow member of the Society of Actuaries for five years. He will report to Gower Wisdom, head of protection, product and pricing.
According to Paul Feeney, chief executive of Old Mutual Wealth, the asset manager’s growth strategy – which also includes plans to “partner with regionally based global financial institutions, regional banks and wealth managers” – was in recognition of the opportunities that the region has to offer.
“Asia is fast becoming one of the world’s wealthiest regions, and a core part of our strategy is to leverage the strength of our combined businesses to grow our proposition in the region.
“Strengthening our presence, broadening our capability, and ultimately our customer reach, will allow us to capture these growth opportunities as they develop,” he said.
Both Skandia International and Old Mutual Global Investors have offices in Hong Kong, while Skandia has an additional office in Singapore.
Old Mutual Wealth currently oversees £75.2bn in customer investments, as at 30 June 2013.
