Regional Compliance Assurance Manager 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

• Ensure that assurance is delivered to key stakeholders on the effectiveness of local compliance arrangements via a robust regional quality assurance programme.

• Ensure that adequate strategies/structures resources exist in local units (LUs) to ensure delivery of the local assurance model (includes some technical guidance to and training/development of LU resources).

• Assurance work to provide oversight of compliance with applicable legislation (via checking first line of defense controls), rules and regulations as well as Prudential’s standards. 

• Compliance is largely “market conduct” compliance and will include support to the anti-money laundering (AML) assurance arrangements.

Core Functional Responsibilities

1. General

• Ensure arrangements are in place to identify and provide an ongoing assessment of compliance risks in order to protect Prudential’s brand, integrity and reputation. 

• Provide counsel to the Regional Compliance Senior Management Team (SMT) on regulatory and market conduct compliance issues.

2. Quality Assurance (QA)

• Participate in the region-wide risk based QA programme covering all Eastspring Investments funds operations compliance functions.

• Deliver reviews from start to finish in conjunction with supporting resources.

• Provide reporting against QA activities to various interested stakeholders and committees.

• Ensure robust QA recommendation tracking and follow-through is delivered.

• Assist in further developing the existing QA methodology to ensure global best practice is followed.

• Project manages specific ‘investigative’ and themed reviews at local level where relevant.

• Assist in tracking of issues via detailed monitoring, verification, closure and reporting of issues/actions/recommendations noted through the assurance report.

3. Project management (AML assurance and Training Development)

• Assist in the delivery of a robust review of the LU funds business AML arrangements to include assessment of sanction screening systems, risk-based frameworks and adherence to Group policies. 

• Lead, design and delivery of training development programmes to aid LU assurance understanding and capability.

• Lead and/or assist in other projects to suit need.

4. Others

• Provide advice and assistance to local compliance functions as relevant to the resolution of key compliance issues (ensuring necessary escalation and follow-through) and business initiatives. 

• Provide compliance input and support to all Eastspring Investments regional teams when appropriate.

• Be aware of emerging regulatory trends and new legislation impacting  Eastspring Investments funds businesses.

• Assist in the development and roll-out of regional standards, policies and practices and ensure their effective implementation.

Key Attributes

• Must have minimum 6 – 8 years of working experience in handling Compliance, AML or Internal Audit space in asset management business or regulatory body.

• Communication ability combined with negotiation/influence experience and report writing skills.

• Detailed knowledge on asset management compliance.

• Internal Audit, Compliance and/or QA experience.

• Good understanding of funds business and operations.

• Fluency in English and/ or Chinese, ability of other spoken Asian languages is a plus.