Man Group plc is strengthening its investment management presence in Asia with the appointment of David Mercurio as Head of Asia Equity and co-Head of Global Equity Strategies reporting to Pierre Lagrange. David, who has 17 years of investment experience, joins from the Government of Singapore Investment Corp (GIC), where he was a senior portfolio manager.
At the same time, Pierre Lagrange (pictured), Senior Managing Director of GLG and Executive Committee member at Man, takes on the role of Chairman of Man Asia, in addition to his responsibilities for managing GLG’s global long only and long short equity portfolios out of London. This is a non-executive role which will give him oversight of the expansion of Man’s investment management activities in the region.
Peter Clarke, Chief Executive of Man, says: “These appointments signal the importance of Asia to the future development of Man. We are already extremely well represented in terms of trading, sales and distribution in Asia and we are determined to increase our investment management capabilities in the region, specifically in China."
Pierre Lagrange, says: “I am thrilled to have David on board. His extensive experience in the Asia Pacific region, combined with his pre-eminence in the crucial resources and financials sectors, make him the ideal person to drive our expanding investment activities in the region. The Man transaction cemented our strong presence in Asia and we intend to evolve this further by boosting GLG’s investment management resources locally, complementing our existing investment teams in London and New York. A better local understanding of the Asian economies and markets, and China in particular, is crucial to the future of successful global investing.”
Man has been in Asia for over 15 years, having first established a distribution office in Hong Kong in 1995. It now has extensive resources in Asia, with offices in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney. At the end of March 2011, 25 per cent of Man’s global funds under management came from Asia Pacific. GLG has a 16-year history of investing in Asia and gained a trading license in Hong Kong in 2010.
David Mercurio, who joined GIC in 2001 from Bankers Trust Australia, has experience across both corporate finance and buy-side investment roles. In his new role, he will operate primarily out of Man’s Hong Kong office.
