Assistant Manager, Regional Investment Solutions and Offshore Platforms recruitment

Eastspring Investments, part of Prudential Corporation Asia, is Prudential's asset management business in Asia. We are one of Asia’s largest asset managers, with operations in 12 markets, approximately 2000 employees in Asia and about US$85 billion (£53.4 billion) in assets under management (at 31 March 2012).  We are one of the largest multi-national onshore mutual fund managers in the region. 

About half of our total assets are sourced from third party clients and we manage funds on behalf of a wide range of retail and institutional investors, including life and pension products sold by Prudential in the UK, the US and across Asia. 

We have investment teams in nine markets, including our regional hub in Singapore. Our investment managers are all based in Asia, close to the markets and the businesses in which we invest. They manage funds across a broad range of asset classes including one of the largest Fixed Income portfolios in Asia, Asia equities (including global emerging market equities) and alternative assets including an absolute return fund, private equity, property and infrastructure.   Our team also includes a specialist Global Asset Allocation team which manages portfolios worldwide from the perspective of the world’s fastest growing region.  

Eastspring Investments operates in Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam and Indonesia, and has joint venture operations in India, China and Hong Kong. We also recently announced the opening of our US office, taking our Asia investment expertise to the world’s largest institutional market.

Together with Eastspring Investments, Prudential Corporation Asia (PCA) comprises the life insurance and consumer finance operations of Prudential plc in Asia.  PCA businesses span 12 markets, covering China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Prudential plc is the leading Europe-based life insurer in terms of market coverage and number of top three positions, with more than 360,000 employees and agents across the region serving over 12 million customers.

Overview of Role

• Manage smaller scaled product launches and product related projects. 

• Produce competitive analyses for focus funds and ad hoc business requests.

• Support one/two local countries in analyzing their markets from a product development perspective and assist them in developing new product or solution to satisfy business needs.

• Assist senior members in the team in the development and launch of new funds in the offshore fund platforms and selected countries.

• Coordinate the drafting and execution of internal product and mandate related agreements amongst entities. 

Core Functional Responsibilities

The role will be responsible for:

1.Product launches and product related projects. This will involve:

• Work with a number of internal departments to coordinate the smaller scaled product related initiatives and product/share class launches.

• May shadow more senior members in the team on larger projects from time to time. 

• Conduct product related research for new product ideas.

2.Produce competitive analyses for focus funds and ad hoc business requests:

• Product competitive analysis using existing template for the quarterly focus funds selected by the business.

• Liaise with portfolio specialists and the sales teams on confirming list of competitive funds to use and the key areas of focus for the analysis.

• Support business ad hoc requests on competitive analysis for marketing campaigns or new product development discussion.

3.Support one/two local countries in analyzing their markets from a product development perspective and assist them in developing new product or solution to satisfy business needs:

• Assist in identifying the appropriate product structure.

• Identify local support requirements following launch and design processes and solutions that will satisfy the local requirements.

• Assist in coordinating discussions between local staff and regional teams in the asset management businesses to provide ongoing support, e.g. Regional Investment Marketing and Regional Operations, etc.

4.Coordinate the drafting and execution of internal product and mandate related agreements amongst stakeholders:

• Obtain confirmation from support functions to confirm content of these agreements.

• Co-ordinate discussion if there is a change in existing process or introduction of new process between entities.  

Typical Skill Set

The role requires a good broad-based understanding of all aspects of the asset management business – portfolio management, sales and marketing, operations, finance, compliance and investment services. The incumbent should possess some project management skills and effective communication skills at all levels. Experience in dealing with some of the local markets and an understanding of the complexities (regulatory, tax, cultural consideration) in some of these markets is a plus. 

Key Attributes

The Assistant Manager should:

• Have 3 to 5 years of experience in financial industry preferably in asset management companies or the funds division of banks. 

• Be strong in relationship management with internal departments and clients.

• Possess good problem solving skills, and be able to work independently.

• Project management skills.

• Strong cross functional and cultural communication skills.

• Meticulous and strong analytical skills.

• Observe and adhere to all reporting deadline but with flexibility in his/her execution.

• Possess fluent written and spoken English. Written and spoken Putonghua, Japanese, Korean or other Asian languages would be a significant advantage.