People Moves
Pictet AM Fills CEO Asia Ex-Japan Role
The Swiss firm continues to hire in the Asia region.
Pictet Asset Management has appointed Junjie Watkins as chief executive for Asia (excluding Japan), filling the role vacated by Amy Cho, who left the firm last November to head up Hong Kong business for Schroders.
Based in Hong Kong, Watkins will be responsible for all business development and client-related matters and will oversee other activities for the region, Pictet AM said.
She joins from TCW Asia, where she was head of investment solutions for Asia. Before that, she headed investment solutions for Greater China at Neuberger Berman Asia.
Watkins began her career in London in 2004, starting at Deutsche Bank, then moving to Lehman Brothers in 2006, where she worked first in fixed income and derivatives, before taking a hedge fund research analyst role in 2008, the same year the investment bank filed for bankruptcy.
Commenting on the hire, group partner and Pictet AM CEO Laurent Ramsey said that Watkins’ combined experience as a "distribution leader and investment professional brings fresh skills and perspectives to our business in Asia. We are confident she will take the franchise to new heights.”
Pictet has made a number of senior appointments in recent years, a trend that has prompted commentary about the influence of former Julius Baer chief executive Boris Collardi, who joined Pictet after leaving Julius Baer in November 2017. Evelyn Yeo for example joined in June as head of investments Asia at Pictet and is based in Hong Kong. The Geneva-based private investment firm managed $186 billion (£165 billion) in assets globally, as at 31 March 2019, and has Asian offices in Hong Kong, Taipei, Osaka, Tokyo and Singapore.