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

JP Morgan 
JP Morgan Asset Management, part of JP Morgan, has appointed former Bank of Singapore figure Gary Leung as head of retail alternatives, Asia-Pacific clients, with immediate effect.

Based in Hong Kong, Leung reports to Dan Watkins, Asia-Pacific chief executive, JP Morgan Asset Management. 

Leung is replacing Shawn Khazzam, who relocated to New York late last year to be the firm’s head of retail alternatives, Americas clients.

In his new role, Leung will lead the firm’s efforts to distribute alternatives solutions to APAC clients, with a focus on high net worth individuals.

With 15 years of alternative investments experience, Leung was most recently head of alternative investments and managed solutions at Bank of Singapore. Before that, he was an alternative specialist with BlackRock and head of alternative investments Hong Kong with HSBC Private Banking.

“Today, APAC retail alternatives is a $1.2 trillion market growing at [about] 10 per cent per year. Alternatives are playing an increasingly large role in asset allocations among Asia investors, particularly with continued search for income and diversification opportunities from retail investors, who tend to under allocate to alts compared with institutional investors,” Watkins said. (He cited data from McKinsey, as of 16 July.)

Globally, the firm has $215 billion in client assets under management in alternative assets as of 30 June 2022.