The APAC prime brokerage division of Swiss banking giant, UBS, has been a hive of activity of late, with five new executi
The APAC prime brokerage division of Swiss banking giant, UBS, has been a hive of activity of late, with five new executives walking through its doors. As reported in AsianInvestor, the bank is moving away from onboarding small start-up hedge funds, instead looking to follow its European model in Hong Kong by targeting heavyweight hedge funds and premium start-ups. And this raft of new additions would seem to suggest they’re well on track. Avijit Choudhury joins from Bloomberg as a director on the systems desk, along with Henri Arslanian as Associate Director, Structuring and Regulation. Ben Horner, who only joined UBS from Cranmore Capital last month, has been promoted to Head of Business Consulting, Asia. All three will report to Ashley Jarvis, Global Head of Capital Consulting. On the capital introduction side, Cheryl Lau joins from Hillhouse Capital, with an additional investor-relations executive due to start next month. David Forsyth, meanwhile, joins its sales desk. In an emailed response to Hedgeweek, David Gray (pictured), UBS’s Head of Prime Brokerage, Asia Pacific wrote: “The region offers huge opportunities for our clients and in order to maximise these we need to ensure that we are resourced accordingly. The nature of our business has changed with more focus by investors on the funds’ structure and terms.” Gray adds that the capital introduction hires complement those made in the consulting side. “We plan to bolster our position in the market and the hire of these experienced and talented bankers will substantially increase the intensity of our client coverage."
