BEA Union Investment bolsters its Asia strategy with a new chief investment officer, fixed income head and senior portfolio manager in Hong Kong.

BEA Union Investment Management, a subsidiary of Bank of East Asia, has announced a string of appointments that include the naming of a new chief investment officer.

Henry Chan Yue-Hung assumes the CIO post immediately to head the investment committee of BEA Union Investment and lead a 14-member team consisting of portfolio managers, research and quantitative analysts and traders covering equities and fixed income investments. WealthBriefingAsia understands that he is replacing Elke Schoeppl-Jost who left in late 2013 to become CIO at Detusche Asset & Wealth Management.

Chan brings over 18 years of investment experience in Asian equities. Prior to the appointment, he served as portfolio manager and executive director at Pyramis Global Advisors in Hong Kong. He was also the head of Asia-Pacific investment at Baring Asset Management and senior fund manager at Invesco Asset Management. In his new role, he reports to Eleanor Wan, the chief executive.

The company also announced the February 2014 promotion of Pheona Tsang as head of fixed income, reporting to Chan. Tsang, who joined the firm in March 2012 from HSBC Global Asset Management, is responsible for managing all of the BEA Union Investment's fixed income portfolios for both retail and institutional clients. She replaced Henry Wong, who left to "pursue other opportunities" after six years with the firm.

Also newly-appointed is Simone Loke as senior portfolio manager, who has been responsible for managing global equities portfolios since November 2013. Loke returns to Hong Kong from Canada after migrating there in 1992 and where she worked as investment manager for the US and Canada at TD Asset Management. She also reports to Chan.

In a statement, Wan said that the changes are in line with the "dramatic changes" happening in the Hong Kong fund industry, particularly with the anticipated introduction of the Hong Kong/China mutual fund recognition. BEA Union Investment is a joint venture formed in 2007 between BEA and Union Asset Management of Germany. It has around $6 billion in assets under management as at 31 December 2013.