September proved to be a particularly busy month for moves in the Asian region.

Aviva Investors named Peter Poulopoulos as business development manager for Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

Poulopoulos stepped in from Zurich, where he served in the same capacity for corporate super and investments for five years.

MLC appointed Stuart Kieghran to the newly-created role of portfolio manager for property and unlisted assets.

Kieghran, who joined MLC from Alliance Bernstein, took responsibility for the firm's property and unlisted asset strategies and will undertake research into global and domestic listed and unlisted property and infrastructure. Based in the North Sydney office, he is also in charge of selecting managers for the unit.

PIMCO Australia appointed Michael Dale as an investment specialist in line with expansion plans for its retail presence in the country.

In his new role, Dale, previously a treasury dealer at Suncorp Metway, works closely with Peter Dorrian, the head of global wealth management, to increase understanding of the value of fixed interest for investors in retirement, and will also target the expansion of the firm's presence in the retail platform and wrap markets. He succeeds Matthew McLenaghan, who was named consultant relations manager for the investment manager's institutional unit.

National Australia Bank appointed Nicola Richards as chief investment officer of its MLC wealth management unit. Richards resigned from the chief investment officer position at Fidelity International to take a break from the industry in March this year. She served in several key international positions at Fidelity, as well as at Schroders Investment Management. 

In her new role, which commences in January 2011, she takes charge of over A$65 billion (around $62 billion) in funds. In the meantime, she will be working closely with MLC.

The CIO post is being occupied by Susan Gosling in the interim. This is in addition to her role as head of capital markets, research.

National Australia Bank promoted Andrew Hagger to group executive for corporate affairs and marketing.

Hagger previously headed the bank's private and institutional wealth business and the insurance operations of MLC and NAB Wealth. Prior to that, he was the office managing partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Melbourne.

In his new role he is responsible for NAB's marketing, brand, sponsorship, event, community and corporate responsibility and corporate affairs, along with government and public policy activities.

Colonial First State, the Australia-based firm that counts wealth management among its services, appointed Cassandra Hinze as head of Bankwest Financial Advice.

In her new role, Hinze reports to Paul Barrett, the general manager of the CFS advice business.

Hinze joined the bank from Macquarie Private Wealth, where she was head of advisor services and was responsible for the strategic direction and management of Macquarie's advice-based programs.

BT Financial Group, the wealth management arm of the Australian financial services firm Westpac, appointed Craig Lawrenson to head up its Asgard division.

Lawrenson joined Asgard on 1 Octover, replacing the firm’s former head Wayne Wilson.

Lawrenson has been with BT for around 14 years, most recently as head of product and strategy for BT Wrap, with responsibility for the design, execution and ongoing management of product strategy for the business.

Anna McCreery, director and market leader for Credit Suisse Private Banking in Australia, resigned from the company.

McCreery joined the private bank from UBS AG in Singapore, where she served as executive director, responsible for a team of private bankers that focuses on Asian and Australian clients. Prior to that, she held several positions within foreign exchange sales at Citibank in Sydney, Singapore, and London.

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney named three senior financial advisors to its Australian wealth management division.

Mark O'Sullivan, James Gosnell, and Chris Watson joined the company's Sydney office as advisors. The three previously worked for Macquarie Private Wealth, specialising in international markets.

Julius Baer hired Jacqueline Koo as the new head of portfolio management for North Asia.

Koo was most recently a managing director and head of investment management at LGT Investment Management in Hong Kong. In her new role, she will be working alongside Erika Mok, who will soon be taking charge of multi-asset portfolios for clients in North Asia. Mok also comes from LGT, where she served as portfolio manager under the discretionary management unit.

UBS appointed senior executive Alex Wilmot-Sitwell as co-chairman and co-chief executive for the Asia Pacific region; he will lead the region together with Chi-Won Yoon, current chairman and CEO, Asia Pacific.

Wilmot-Sitwell will be based in Hong Kong and will take over his new role on 1 November. He has been at UBS since 1996 and was appointed joint global head of investment banking in 2004; chairman and CEO of Europe, Middle East and Africa in 2008, and co-CEO of the investment bank in April last year.

Under the changes, Carsten Kengeter, currently co-CEO of UBS' investment bank, will become sole head of the investment bank.

Citibank Global Consumer Group made key appointments to its senior management ranks.

Fanny Lum, formerly the director of wealth management, is now the director of bank branching. In her new role, she is responsible for overseeing the bank's retail branches, as well as operations in Hong Kong and Macau. She manages a team of relationship managers serving the mass affluent and affluent clients.

Josephine Lee, who used to be the head of investment products and sales, now occupies Lum's former job as director of wealth management, responsible for the development of investment products and sales and marketing strategies for the delivery of wealth management solutions for retail clients.

Also acquiring a new position is Maria Leung, who is now director of Citigold Private Client. She will be overseeing operations and linkages at the One Citi Wealth Management continuum, which covers Citigold, Citigold Private Client, and Citi Private Bank.

Swiss private bank Lombard Odier built on its Asian operations with the appointment of five senior relationship managers to its Hong Kong office.

Philippe Adler, who brings 18 years of private banking experience from UBS, was named managing director. Stepping in as executive directors are Dominik Fuerst, from UBS, Tanya Ward, also from UBS, Doreen Tan, from Bankers Trust, and Barbara Wang, from W Capital Group.

Withers, the international law firm with a large private clients operation, relocated Patrick Hamlin from London to Hong Kong to head its litigation practice in the jurisdiction.

Hamlin has extensive experience in Hong Kong, having practised law from 1979 to 1994 there, including four years in private practice and eleven as a lawyer for the government. In his new Hong Kong post, he will focus on advising clients on disputes related to wills, trusts and inheritance law, an area in which Withers says it intends to expand in the coming years.

He joins Withers Hong Kong through its associated law firm Facey & Co, which was established in August this year, with a view to merge with Withers Hong Kong by January 2011. Withers Hong Kong will then be registered as a local law firm offering both local and international legal services.

Mercer strengthened its retirement risk and finance unit with the appointment of Alan Oates as business leader in Hong Kong.

Oates was previously a principal and senior member of the international benefits group at Mercer New York. Prior to his New York position, he was part of the retirement, risk and finance team in the UK.

American International Group appointed Marc de Cure as its new chief financial officer in Hong Kong, filling a position that was unoccupied for several months.

De Cure previously served as chief finance officer for Australian wealth manager AMP and as principal advisor for Bain & Co prior to this appointment, which commenced on 27 September. He leads AIG's Asian life insurance arm, American International Assurance, or AIA.

Hong Kong-based Quam Asset Management announced that Richard Harris took over at the helm of the company as of last month.

Harris, a Hong Kong resident, brings 32 years of industry experience to the firm, specialising in investment management in Asia, Europe and low-taxation jurisdictions. He joined from Port Shelter, a consulting firm he founded to assist family offices with their investment decisions. Prior to that, he served as chief executive of Jardine Fleming's private bank and as director for Citi Private Bank in Asia, among other positions.

The Royal Bank of Scotland announced two key promotions for its global banking franchise.

Matthew Kirkby is now head of global banking, Asia Pacific, while Patrick Broughton took over as global head of equities origination.

Kirkby most recently held the position Broughton is filling. Prior to that, he was head of M&A/equity capital markets (ECM) for Asia Pacific, head of ECM Asia Pacific, and head of South Asia ECM. Based in Hong Kong, Kirkby reports functionally to Marco Mazzucchelli, global head of banking and deputy CEO, and regionally to John McCormick, CEO for global banking and markets Asia Pacific. He retains his other previous role as global head of corporate finance.

Meanwhile, Broughton reports jointly to Frank McKirgan, global head of equities, and Mazzuccheli. Prior to taking up his new position, he was head of ECM for Australia and New Zealand. He will be based in London.

Citi Private Bank named Roger Bacon as head of management investments and advisory for Asia Pacific.

Bacon previously served as head of Union Bancaire Privee's hedge fund unit in London. In his new role he is based in Hong Kong and responsible for managed product sales, advisory sales, tailored portfolio origination, and other related transactions for in the region. He reports directly to Debashish Dutta Gupta, the bank's head of investments for Asia Pacific.

Financial Risk Management relocated Marc Fisher from London to head its office in Hong Kong.

Fisher was previously the managing director for marketing in the Hong Kong region and also headed the company's Principia product range. Prior to that he worked for Citi, where he helped set up the bank's fund derivatives marketing division. In his new role, he took over from Au King Lun, who moved to Bank of China.

Barclays Wealth appointed Thelma Kwan as head of wealth advisory for the Asia Pacific region, based in Hong Kong.

Kwan heads the team of trust consultants in Hong Kong and Singapore, and oversees the provision and marketing of trust structuring and wealth advisory services to Barclays Wealth high net worth and ultra high net worth clients across Asia.

She reports to London-based Rob Withecombe, Barclays Wealth head of wealth advisory, as well as to Didier von Daeniken, chief executive of Barclays Wealth Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining Barclays Wealth, Kwan was at LGT Management Services, where she was executive director of trust services for the past three years. 

UBS AG named Stephen Pak to head its hedge fund business in Asia.

Pak, who becomes head of regional capital introduction for the prime brokerage division, used to work in the alternative investments division at Credit Suisse. At UBS, he reports to Ashley Jarvis, the global head of business and capital consultancy of the same unit.

Macquarie Private Wealth Asia appointed three senior private wealth executives to its growing regional team in Asia.

James Mak, Robin Harris, and Leonard Tan joined Macquarie in support of the company's expanding range of services for ultra high net worth individuals in Asia. Mak stepped in as region head of co-investments and strategic advisory based in Hong Kong, Harris as head of strategic partnership development initiatives, and Tan as key client advisor, with a focus on South East Asian markets.

Mak was formerly the head of JP Morgan's strategic advisory group for Asia Pacific, Harris used to be the managing director for Equity Trust, while Tan, most recently a director at Focal Capital, was one of the top private banker's at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management Asia.

ABN Amro Private Banking named Mark Chan as market manager for its Hong Kong unit, China International.

Chan previously served as head of private banking for Greater China at Deutsche Bank, head of private banking for Taiwan at BNP Paribas, and head of private banking for North Asia at Rabobank. Prior to his new job, he was head of private banking for Mainland China at Bank of Singapore.

At China International, he is responsible for building a team of private bankers in the China market. He reports to Gloria Sun, market manager for China and Taiwan International.

Barclays named Helge Weiner-Trapness as head of the financial institutions group for Asia Pacific. He is joined by Steven Sun, who was appointed Asia Pacific chairman of the financial institutions group.

Weiner-Trapness left JP Morgan Chase & Co in 2008 after over six years at the firm, and started working at Barclays in early August 2010. Sun, meanwhile, joined Barclays in 2009 from UBS.

Also recently appointed were Randy Gelber, from Bank of America, as head of technology investment banking, and Jorge Munoz and Marco Schwartz as co-heads of equity capital markets for Asia Pacific. Munoz is from Deutsche Bank, while Schwartz came from Barclays Capital in the UK.

All positions are based in Hong Kong.

Bryan Chen, the Asia marketing manager for Edmond de Rothschild Asset Management, resigned from his Hong Kong-based post.

Chen reportedly informed the company of his departure three months ago and is looking at two potential offers, one from a Middle East sovereign wealth firm and the other from a private equity group in the Far East.

It remains unknown whether his replacement has already been selected.

Bank of America's Merrill Lynch appointed Michael Benz from UBS as its new Asia Pacific head of wealth management, taking over from Antony Hung, who stepped down from the role as previously reported.

As head of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management Asia Pacific, Benz will report to Sallie Krawcheck, head of Merrill Lynch GWM.

Benz, a Swiss national, recently headed the investment products and services unit in Asia for UBS. He joins BofA Merrill Lynch early next year, the US firm confirmed to this publication.

Benz, who moved to Hong Kong in 2003, previously worked in investment banking, asset management and wealth management in Switzerland, Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong with UBS.

Credit Suisse named one of its existing top managers, Osama Abbasi, as chief executive of the Asia Pacific region and a member of the executive board of the Zurich-listed bank, reporting to CEO Brady Dougan.

The current regional CEO, Kai Nargolwala, took on the new role of non-executive chairman of Credit Suisse Asia Pacific.

Abbasi was formerly head of the equities department of the investment bank in the region. In his new role he oversees the execution of the bank’s strategy in Asia Pacific and is responsible for both divisional and country performance.

Abbasi remains based in Hong Kong while Nargolwala relocated to Singapore.

Private client specialist Karen Choy joined the Hong Kong office of Equity Trust as its new head of trustee services.

In her new capacity, Choy manages and monitors the Trustee Services division, which works with HNW clients and their advisors for their business, fiduciary and financial needs

Credit Suisse appointed former UBS senior manager James Hong as private banking chief executive for Hong Kong.

Hong reports to Marcel Kreis, head of Private Banking Asia Pacific.

The post of private banking CEO in Hong Kong was a role created in May this year; Kreis acted as interim chief executive for the bank in Hong Kong prior to Hong's appointment.

Hong was most recently at UBS Global Asset Management, where he was the chairman of Greater China from 2004 to 2009, and, before that, head of alternative and quantitative investments, Asia.

Shyam Srinivasan assumed the leadership of Kerala-based Federal Bank as its new managing director and chief executive.

Srinivasan was previously the country manager at Standard Chartered Bank's consumer banking business. He was also formerly country head at the bank's consumer unit in Malaysia.

JP Morgan Private Bank appointed Rahul Malhotra as managing director and market manager for India.

Malholtra was latterly the head of wealth management for Asia at Merrill Lynch. Before that, he worked at Citibank as global head of NRI in London and as head of retail banking Asia in Singapore. His new role at JP Morgan sees him based in Singapore, where he reports to Andrew Cohen, chief executive of JP Morgan in Asia. Malholtra was also appointed to the bank's Asia operating committee.

Mumbai financial services firm Avendus Capital appointed Zarksis Gotla as executive director of its wealth management unit.

Gotla joined the firm from Deutsche Bank Private Wealth management, where he served for the last five years. Prior to that, he was with BNP Paribas Wealth Management. At Avendus, he will be part of the senior management team, with a focus on the Western region, and will report to Nikhil Kapadia, chief executive officer.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch appointed Sanjiv Malhotra as India country risk manager and as a member of the India country leadership team.

Malhotra joined the firm from The Danamon Group, Indonesia, where he was chief risk officer and a board member. Prior to this, he spent 20 years at Citigroup, most recently as chief risk officer at Citigroup Private Bank, India.

In his new Mumbai-based role at Merrill Lynch, Malhotra will report jointly to Rahul Singhal, chief risk officer Asia Pacific, and Barbara Taylor, senior credit risk executive for Asia Pacific.

He assumes overall responsibility for the India risk function, as well as the country’s individual risk functions (including credit, market, operational and compliance risk). He will also manage the portfolio risk and credit approval responsibilities for the bank’s corporate lending activities in India.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group announced changes to its board lineup.

Kyota Omori, who retired as deputy president and chief compliance officer on 30 September, assumed a lighter role as director. Noboyuki Hirano, previously director and chief strategic alliance officer, became deputy president, while Masao Hasegawa, previously managing director and chief risk management officer, became chief compliance and risk management officer in addition to his MD role.

MUFJ is the holding company for the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities Holdings, and other companies in a range of financial sectors.

Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand appointed two new investment advisors, as Alistair Ross and Kristan Mines joined the team from Goldman Sachs.

Ian Witters, meanwhile, assumed the role of head of Macquarie Private Wealth New Zealand.

Bank of Singapore announced more new hires in Singapore for its South East Asia team and Korea desk.

Kim Dong Yoon and Daniel Lee Sang Kee joined the firm as senior relationship managers for the Korea desk in Singapore. Both are from Standard Chartered Private Bank.

Also stepping in for the South East Asia market team, led by Bahren Shaari, were Joep Hillegers for Indonesia, and Pang Yok Tong and Kenny Chia for Malaysia. Hillegers joined from Heritage Asset Management, Pang from UBS, and Chia from Citigroup.

State Street Global Advisors brought back Lochiel Crafter into the company as Asia Pacific head of investments, after he left the US firm two years ago.

Crafter was Asia Pacific chief investment officer at SSGA in Singapore until 2008, after which he joined the Australian Award Investment Alliance in Sydney as its chief executive officer. In his new role, he is responsible for overseeing the regional investment teams, with a focus on client interaction. He also manages a team of portfolio managers, researchers, and strategists in Sydney, Hong Kong, Singapore, and Tokyo.

ANZ made changes to its management ranks in a bid to bolster its client base in the Asia Pacific region.

Vishnu Shahaney joined the company as chief executive for Singapore, taking over from Bill Foo, who was named vice chairman for South and Southeast Asia.

Shahaney was with ANZ for over 30 years and has served in senior management positions in corporate banking, working capital, and risk. In his new role, which includes being head of institutional for Singapore, he is tasked with building the bank's brand in the institutional, commercial, retail, wealth and private banking arenas, connecting Singapore-based clients with ANZ's international network.

Foo, meanwhile, takes on a broader leadership role in which he is responsible for building and deepening client relationships in the region.

Both are based in Singapore and report to Mark Robinson, the CEO for south and southeast Asia.

Treasury Asia Asset Management, the boutique equity funds management company, hired Ten Ngiek-Lian, Marc Faber, and Robert Mann to make up its new investment advisory board.

Ngiek-Lian founded the Singapore funds manager Target Asset Management and  served as managing director for Morgan Grenfell Investment Management Asia and for UBS Asset Management in Singapore. Faber is an advisor to the TAAM New Asia Fund and is known for his books and articles on Asian investments. Mann was with Credit Suisse Asset Management for 25 years and held key executive roles in Australia and the Asia Pacific units.

Also joining the new advisory board are Peter Sartori, the founder and chief executive of TAAM, and Eng-Teck Tan, the company's investment manager.

The Singapore-based investment firm Ivanhoe Capital appointed Jonathan Dubois-Phillips and Blake Olafson as senior vice presidents for corporate finance.

Dubois-Phillips served key positions at Lehman Brothers in Southeast Asia, Greater China and South Korea before joining Nomura as managing director in 2008. He will be based in Hong Kong and will report directly to Robert Friedland, the founder and chief executive of Ivanhoe.

Olafson also comes from Lehman, where he served in the principal transactions group in Thailand and Singapore, before moving to the Bahrain investment fund Arcapita in 2008. In his new role, he will be based on Hong Kong and will also report to Friedland.

The wealth management arm of UBS named Alexander Kobler as regional head of investment products and services for Asia Pacific.

Kobler previously had several senior roles in the bank, including head of wealth management research, co-head of key account management and investment advisory and head of IPS investment advisory. In his new role, he is responsible for further building on and creating leverage for the bank's IPS APAC business.

The successor for his roles as head of investment advisory and as key account manager for WM CH will be announced soon.

UBS appointed a team of bankers to its ultra high net worth division.

Jeremy Tan stepped in as managing director for the Family Office business for South East Asia markets. Tan was previously with Citi Private Bank and Merrill Lynch.

Also recently hired is Rennie Lim as director, who joins the firm from Citi Private Bank. She is a client advisor with a strong track record in servicing ultra high net worth clients.

The other members of the team will be announced in due course, UBS said.

Barclays Wealth appointed Thelma Kwan as head of wealth advisory for the Asia Pacific region, based in Hong Kong.

Kwan will head the team of trust consultants in Hong Kong and Singapore, and oversee the provision and marketing of trust structuring and wealth advisory services to Barclays Wealth high net worth and ultra high net worth clients across Asia.

She reports to London-based Rob Withecombe, Barclays Wealth head of wealth advisory, as well as to Didier von Daeniken, chief executive of Barclays Wealth Asia Pacific.

Prior to joining Barclays Wealth, Kwan was at LGT Management Services, where she was executive director of trust services for the past three years.

DBS brought in a former ANZ banker to head its consumer banking unit.

Tan Kong Khoon was most recently the head of retail banking and wealth management for ANZ in Hong Kong and northeast Asia. The banker, who actually started his banking career with DBS in 1981, will assume his new post on 1 December.

Tan succeeds Rajan Raju, who resigned in late August 2010 to join Deutsche Bank's asset management team.

ABN Amro Private Banking named David Chan as head of investment advisory for its Singapore office.

Chan brings over 20 years of experience in international banks, having worked at the likes of Barclays and Citibank in various capacities. Before joining ABN Amro, he led a team of investment advisors specialising in client investment portfolios and asset allocation at Standard Chartered Bank.

In his new role, he reports to Change Tze Lee, head of private banking for Southeast Asia, and Angel Wu, regional head of products and solutions for Asia.

DWS Investments, the mutual fund arm of Deutsche Asset Management, confirmed

the hiring of Rajan Raju as managing director, chief executive officer of DWS Asia and global head of DWS Solutions.

The statement follows recent news reports of Raju's departure from his position as head of consumer banking at DBS. In his new role, Raju is based in Singapore and reports to Ingo Gefeke, global head of distribution and product management at DWS Investments.

Gibson Tullberg, the wealth management headhunter, which already has offices in London and Switzerland, opened a Singapore office to serve Far East markets.

The office is run by Jessica Torres Schernthaner, who has relocated from London to run the new practice, and supported by co-partner Matilda Gibson-Tullberg.

Société Générale Private Banking appointed Olivier Gougeon as chief executive for South Asia, based in Singapore. He replaced Pierre-F Baer, who takes up a new role in the French banking group.

Gougeon was previously based in London as global head of the wealth planning and fiduciary services centre of expertise at the private bank, a role he held since 2007. As part of the changes, Gougeon became a member of the global and Asia Pacific executive committees of the private bank.