Who's Moving Where In Wealth Management? – Calastone, M&G

Editorial Staff

2 September 2022

Calastone
This week, – 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 £348.9 billion ($403 billion) at 30 June 2022, whilst M&G’s real estate business has £33.5 billion under management.