Home

Last month the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published their latest Asset and Wealth Management Activities Survey. This report presented strong growth in Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management business in 2019, it found that the Assets Under Management (AUM) of the asset and wealth management business in Hong Kong increased by 20% year-on-year, to $28,769 billion (US $3,694 billion) as at 31^st December 2019.

Other positive results included:

• 22% year-on-year value growth in asset management and fund advisory businesses.
• 19% year-on-year value growth in private banking and private wealth management business.
• 11% year-on-year value growth in assets held under trusts.

It was also reported that this growth has had a positive impact on the total number of staff in the asset and management business, as at 31^st December 2019 it was 45,1327, with an increasing proportion directly engaged in asset management and other support functions, thus representing a 2% overall increase in personnel.

Despite the uncertain and challenging global market situation due to the COVID-19 outbreak and increasing geopolitical tensions between the US and China, Hong Kong’s financial market has remained buoyant so far in 2020.

“The performance of Hong Kong’s financial markets in the first half of 2020 showed that they remain resilient.” – Mr Ashley Alder, the SFC’s Chief Executive Officer.

The SFC has committed to initiatives to facilitate the development of Hong Kong as a competitive full-service asset and wealth management centre and preferred fund home. The success of this is likely to lead to an increase in demand for skilled Compliance and Risk talent.

The last couple of years have seen the introduction of the SFC’s Manager in Charge regime and the Fund Manager’s Code of Conduct, which have driven the need to upskill Compliance and Risk Management talent. As firms build regional trading desks and increasing look to the China market for expansion the need for experienced senior level Corporate Governance professionals in Hong Kong only increases.

It is without doubt that the recruitment market in Hong Kong has suffered a tough 12 months, however, there are encouraging signs that AUM in the region will continue to grow, and the need for Compliance and Risk Management talent by both international and local financial institutions remains key, overall it looks like the future is very positive and recruitment opportunities will increase.

As a leading supplier of Compliance and Risk Management talent to the Hong Kong and global Financial Services market, we are extremely well-placed to find you the best candidates.

Please contact me to discuss any current or upcoming hiring, or to ask any questions about the current market.

Join our panel of leading financial services Legal experts, find out the lockdown lessons and how to create future efficiencies.

Thursday, 8 October 2020
12:30pm to 1:15pm (GMT)

REGISTER HERE

SYNOPSIS:

The Lessons of Lockdown for In-House Lawyers – How to Create Efficiency in the Future

Maame Eshun (Head of In-house Legal) & Katherine Lord (Head of Danos Consulting), will be joined by three leading Legal experts from the Banking, Asset Management and FinTech sectors.

This panel of specialists will provide insights on the current Legal market, elaborating on the challenges they have faced over the lockdown period and provide advice on creating efficiencies for the future. There will also be a Q&A session at the end to address any of your questions.

WHO SHOULD JOIN:

This event is a must for those who are senior leaders in the Legal sector. This online event will help you shape your strategies and plans for the future, it will give you some focused time to connect with other lawyers in your field, and to hear industry expert opinions.

THE PANEL:

Maame Eshun (Event Host): Head of In-house Legal recruitment, Danos Associates. Maame will provide a Legal Market Overview and key expected trends for hiring in 2021.

Katherine Lord (Event Facilitator): Partner and Head of Danos Consulting.  Katherine is a market leading interim and consultancy specialist recruiter, focusing on Legal, Compliance and Risk hiring.

Expert One: A leading Legal professional from the Fintech sector who has huge expertise with high-growth companies.

Expert Two: An experienced General Counsel from the Asset Management sector who can add huge value to discussions around regulatory change.

Expert Three: General Counsel with senior board level expertise from working in MD level roles at large Banking Groups and most recently in the niche International Banking sector.

SIGN UP FOR THIS EXCITING EVENT:

Once we received your registration, we will send you the meeting details. The meeting will be hosted online using Zoom Meeting.

REGISTER HERE

PANEL QUESTIONS:

If you have a specific question you would like to ask the panel, please email these in advance to londonlegal@danosassociates.com

SNACK PACK:

We like our participants to enjoy our online events as much as possible. We would like to send you a “snack pack” that includes some refreshments for our meeting. These will be posted to you in advance of the meeting.

The pack is optional, if you would like to receive this then please provide your mailing address at the point of registration*.

(*Sorry only available in the UK and if the registration is received before Sunday 4th October 2020).

Thank You

Danos Associates Legal Team

It has been an active quarter for senior in-house legal professionals within the financial services sector. Outlined below is a selection of the moves from May to July 2020.

Banking / Trading 

Karen Kuder has been appointed General Counsel of Deutsche Bank and Global Head of the Legal department, replacing Florian Drinhausen who announced his departure in April 2020. Karen reports to Stefan Simon, a designated Management Board member responsible for the Legal department, and relations with both government and regulatory authorities.

Karl Spielmann has been appointed Chief Legal Officer at Cboe Global Markets, from his role as Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel at The Depositary Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC), where he had worked for over ten years.

Christopher Mallon has been appointed Senior Advisor for Lazard Financial Advisory. Christopher a former Senior Restructuring Partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, will provide strategic counsel to Lazard’s global restructuring practice and its clients.

Jonathan Stanley has been promoted from Legal to Counsel to Head of Investment Banking, Legal, UK at the Berenberg Bank.

Investment Management 

Kevin Wulwik has been appointed as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Eisler Capital. Kevin is ex Global Managing Director & Co-General Counsel at Tudor Investment Corporation.

Kasit Rochanakorn has joined Atomico as their first in-house counsel from his role as Private Equity Lawyer, Executive Director & Senior Counsel at Goldman Sachs.

Adam Porter joins Alchemy Partners LLP as General Counsel, from his role as Counsel in the private equity practice at Macfarlanes.

Andrew Tingle has been appointed General Counsel of Lodbrok Capital LLP, from his previous role as European General Counsel of Hayfin Capital Management LLP.

David Barton has been appointed General Counsel of Symmetry Investments, from his role as Senior Counsel at Rokos Capital. 

Tara Newberry has been appointed Assistant General Counsel, Head of Leal EMEA at Northern Trust Asset Management, from her role as Head of Legal, Corporate Counsel at PGIM.

Charlotte Dixon has been appointed the first London-based Associate General Counsel for I Squared Capital, from her role as Associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP.

Dylan McKenzie has been appointed Head of Legal for Curzon Advisers from his role as Corporate Partner for Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner (BCLP) after more than fourteen years. 

Real Estate 

Sarah Birchley joins Quintain Limited as their General Counsel, from her role as Director in the real estate team of Gowling WLG.

Robert Bindless joins as the Head of Transactions and Legal at Aprirose Real Estate Investment, from his role as Senior Real Estate Lawyer at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.

Nicholas Maher joins Trimont Real Estate Advisors as managing Director, Legal and Compliance, from his role as Executive Director at the Mount Street Group.

Sarah Nelson Smith has been appointed the Global Head of Corporate and Commercial, Legal of Booking.com, from her previous role at WeWork as former Regional General Counsel.

Leah Brown joins as Head of Legal for Trussle, from her role as Legal Advisor for the Kuwait Investment Office.

Consultancy / Retail 

Emily Foges has been appointed Lead Partner for Deloitte Legal Managed Services from her role as Chief Executive Officer for Luminance. Emily took on the leadership function in June, concluding a four-year stint as CEO of the artificial intelligence company.

Jeff Chang Associate Director left Osborne Clarke, to become the first General Counsel at the UKs insurance services provider Davies Group. 

Paul Barrett has been appointed the General Counsel and Company Secretary of Helios Towers, re-joining from his role as Director of Legal and Company Secretary at RAC Limited.

LEGAL EXPERTISE & EXPERIENCE

The Danos Group is a leading provider of permanent and interim Legal, Compliance, and Risk recruitment services in the Financial Services arena. With an unparalleled talent network, we provide experienced, top quality professionals throughout EMEA, the Americas and APAC.

We pride ourselves on being able to match talent not just to the requirements of the role, but also to the style of the organisation.

Danos Associates is a leading specialist executive search firm providing a personalised, discreet recruitment and selection service, to an elite client base across the global market.

Our network and deep understanding of the in-house legal market positions us perfectly to efficiently source the best individuals for your organisation, whether that be General Counsel or junior level lawyers.

Our Private Practice specialists focus on partner and senior level individuals, specialising in financial services, corporate, and the real estate sector.

Danos Consulting provides experienced Legal, Risk and Regulatory interim and consultancy professionals to the Financial Services sector including consultancies. We provide experienced, first class practitioners cost effectively.

Our offering:
– Retained Search
– Contingency Recruitment
– Staff Augmentation
– Interim Resourcing
– Consulting Services

Having an interconnected practice successfully enables us to uniquely leverage the Legal and Compliance spheres within financial institutions, professional services, and commercial companies.

Over the past decade, our search consultants have developed a comprehensive network of candidates and clients, built through both delivery on mandates and nurturing of relationships.  

If you would like a copy of the report, or if you have any further queries, please do contact Danos.

Maame Eshun
Senior Associate, Head of EMEA In-House Legal, Danos Associates
Email: meshun@danosassociates.com 
Tel: + 44 (0) 20 3908 4809

Katherine Lord
Partner, Head of Danos Consulting
Email: klord@danosconsulting.com
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7010 1153