The latest moves and appointments for senior roles for Asia-Pacific wealth management.

Calastone
This week, Calastone, a global funds network, appointed Ross Fox as managing director of the Asia-Pacific region to lead Calastone’s business expansion there and to launch its regional headquarters in Singapore.

Fox has relocated to Singapore from Sydney where he was previously responsible for managing Calastone’s Australia business.

With more than 15 years of experience working across the asset management industry, Ross will lead Calastone’s strategy and business expansion in the APAC region, the firm said in a statement.

“The launch of Calastone’s office as the regional headquarters for APAC reaffirms our commitment to Singapore and the region,” Fox said.

“APAC is an important and strategic growth market for our business. Opening our regional hub in Singapore will help us support the growing demand for digitalisation in APAC’s funds industry, while enhancing our service delivery capabilities to both new and existing clients,” he added.  

In APAC, the fund management industry is projected to outpace any other region globally, with assets under management estimated to reach $41.1 trillion in 2025, with Singapore standing to capitalise on this, the firm said.

Calastone’s new office in Singapore will strengthen it’s ability to connect the world’s largest community of funds, with 70 per cent of fund flows in Singapore already managed by Calastone’s network.

Ross stressed: “At Calastone, we are committed to leading the digital transformation of the funds industry in the region. Our mission is to reduce complexity and drive out risk and cost for all participants, enhancing the industry’s ability to innovate, automate and deliver greater value to the investor and, in turn, making investing accessible to all.”

Calastone, whose global headquarters are in London, has eight offices in North America, Europe and APAC. 

M&G Real Estate
M&G Real Estate – part of M&G’s private assets and alternatives business – this week appointed two senior executives Martin Seol and Daniel Cho, based in Singapore and Seoul respectively, to bolster its presence in the Asia-Pacific region.

Seol is joining as director, portfolio management, head of targeted strategy, Asia Life Fund. He will report to Kee Teck Leong, fund manager of the Asia Life Fund. In this role, he will manage the targeted strategy – M&G’s core-plus/value-add mandate.

He will also work with Peter Riley, head of capital solutions, to grow and deliver separate account solutions, club deals and joint ventures, the firm said in a statement.

Seol's career of over two decades spans across real estate and credit in different markets, from Los Angeles to Tokyo, Seoul and Hong Kong. He is joining M&G from advisory firm Coral Tree LLC. Previously, Seol was the head of Asia at Bank of America Merrill Lynch Real Estate Principal Investments.

M&G has also named Daniel Cho as director, acquisitions in South Korea, to drive the firm’s real estate investment activities in the market. He will be responsible for sourcing and executing on- and off-market transactions, as well as structuring real estate deals with the objective of maximising risk-adjusted investment returns, the firm stressed.

With over 15 years of experience, he was most recently with KKR’s Asia real estate team, where he managed the firm’s Korean portfolio, following stints at Mapletree, Ascendas and Macquarie Capital. Cho is based in Seoul and reports to Ryu Hyesik, head of Korea.

Welcoming them to the firm, Jing Dong Lai, CEO and CIO, M&G Real Estate Asia, said: “The APAC real estate market continues to be highly compelling for global investors, and our growth in the region reflects our commitment to be at the forefront of the industry. Their addition, who are both leaders in their own fields, puts us in a strong position to continue serving our clients and partners with on-the-ground capabilities to capture high-quality investment opportunities.”

These appointments follow Jan Low joining as head of acquisitions, Asia, Jody Neale joining as associate director of acquisitions, Japan, in 2021, as well as Ikeda Seiko's appointment as head of Japan earlier this year.

M&G Investments is part of M&G, a savings and investment business which was formed in 2017 through the merger of Prudential’s UK and Europe savings and insurance operation and M&G, its wholly owned international investment manager. M&G, listed on the London Stock Exchange, has ÂŁ348.9 billion ($403 billion) at 30 June 2022, whilst M&G’s real estate business has ÂŁ33.5 billion under management.