Recent HSBC Australia recruit David Stuart has got the nod as regional chief invest-ment officer following the departure of long serving Ian Burden.
Recent HSBC Australia recruit David Stuart has got the nod as regional chief invest-ment officer following the departure of long serving Ian Burden.
The appointment of Stuart to the post marks the first time the head of investment for the region is to be based in Melbourne. The position has traditionally been based in Hong Kong, the founding city for the global financial services group.
HSBC Asset Management chief executive officer Bob DeHart hailed the appointment as a vote of confidence for the Australian operations.
“One of my goals since joining the company has been to align the Australian opera-tions more closely with the global operations. David’s appointment to the regioanla post is an indication of how seriously the HSBC group treats that strategy,” he says.
De Hart says the intention for Stuart to take over from Burden as a succession plan has been in place for some time, however the group was surprised Burden’s departure came so soon. Burden had been with HSBC for 16 years.
Stuart, former Prudential investment chief, has been with HSBC since February as chief investment officer in Australian.
In his new position, Stuart will be responsible for chairing the regional asset alloca-tion committee which sets the asset allocation strategy of all Asia-Pacific equity port-folios. Investment teams in Hong Kong, Australia, Japan and Singapore reporting to him.
Stuart joined HSBC earlier this year following the departure of chief investment offi-cer Stephen Babidge who joined former managing director David Stephens at Con-tango Asset Management. Bob DeHart replaced Stephens in April this year from HSBC in Canada.
In light of Stuart’s promotion, associate director of fixed interest Damien Hennessy has been elevated to the deputy chief investment officer, reporting to Stuart. Hennessy has been with HSBC Asset Management for more than nine years. and will now be responsible for the investment strategy formulation and implementation for company’s clients in Australia.
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