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

Comgest
Comgest, a Paris-based asset manager focused on long-term responsible investment in quality-growth equities, has bolstered the team behind its Comgest Growth Japan fund with the appointment of Heyang Ping as an analyst based in Tokyo.

Ping, who has more than 10 years’ experience covering Japanese stocks, is based in the firm’s Tokyo office alongside Comgest’s 13-strong local employee base, the firm said in a statement. 

Previously  she was an equity analyst with Sparx Asset Management’s Tokyo team, where she contributed to their SMID oriented, bottom-up sustainable growth portfolios, the firm added. 

Prior to this, she worked on the sell-side covering Japanese securities with both Macquarie and JP Morgan, all based in Tokyo. Originally from China, she is fluent in Japanese and English, alongside her native Mandarin, the firm said.

Ping is joining Comgest’s five-strong investment team responsible for the Japan strategies (Japan Growth and Japan Compounders), totalling ÂŁ3.4 billion ($3.9 billion). The client base comprises a range of institutional and wholesale investors around the globe, with over 20 per cent of investors based in the UK, the firm continued. Comgest first established a local research office in Tokyo in 2007 to expand its access to the under-researched and under-covered stocks in the market.

The Comgest Growth Japan UCITS fund with ÂŁ2.4 billion AUM has delivered a strong performance for investors since July 2009 when the current team was established, delivering 11.16 per cent per annum compared with 7.31 per cent per annum for the Topix Index (JPY, net of fees to 30 September 2022). 

The Comgest Growth Japan team seeks companies with strong ESG credentials and integrates non-financial analysis throughout the investment process, assigning proprietary quality levels to each portfolio holding, the firm said. 

The fund is classified as Article 8 under the EU’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation. The team sees ESG research as an opportunity in Japan, where many of the strengths in Japanese companies are underestimated, or misunderstood by third parties and data providers. The carbon footprint of the portfolio is 83 per cent lower than the index, the firm continued.

Richard Kaye, co-lead portfolio manager of the Comgest Growth Japan fund, said, “Heyang’s diverse experience in the Japanese market, alternative perspective and long-term vision makes her an excellent fit for our bottom-up, fundamentally driven research investment style.” 

“Her more recent years focused on small and medium sized companies and with a specific ESG angle will add depth to this valuable skillset within our team. Japanese brands have become aspirational for many Asian consumers and a mark of quality. In addition, with a significant portion of our investment opportunities linked to growth in the region, her ability to collaborate closely with our Hong Kong research team and to work in Mandarin is a real edge,” he continued.

Ping added: “Comgest’s long-term, quality growth investment approach, strong track record and commitment to integrating ESG made the firm a natural home for me.” 

LaSalle Investment Management 
LaSalle Investment Management has appointed Matthew Jianguo Yao, an investment manager in the Greater China market, as head of RMB strategy. 

He will be joining LaSalle from PGIM, bringing 10 years of experience from CBRE Global Investors, where he worked on capital raising and built operational capabilities including development and asset management, the firm said in a statement.
 
This appointment follows LaSalle’s registration as a private equity fund manager with the Asset Management Association of China. This will enable LaSalle to carry out RMB-denominated capital raising, as well as providing fund management services for RMB funds in China, the firm added. 
 
In this newly-formed role, he will partner with LaSalle’s team across Shanghai and Hong Kong to increase development of its RMB strategy and execution. He will also use his market expertise and network to forge more capital partnerships with China’s domestic institutional investors and capture new opportunities in the market, the firm said.
 
He reports to Claire Tang, head of Greater China and co-chief investment officer of Asia Pacific.

Welcoming him to the firm, Tang said: “China is a strategically important market for LaSalle and one to which we have a long-term commitment, having operated in the country since 2005.” 

“We’re pleased to welcome Matthew to our team as we broaden our fundraising to tap on the deep pool of domestic investable capital in China. As we scale our platform in China and across Asia Pacific, we are looking to continue to deliver strong returns to our investors over time,” she said.
 
Yao added: “I’m looking forward to working with the LaSalle team to diversify our investor base and to extend the firm’s track record of investment excellence.”