Harpreet Bindra has been named as chief executive of HSBC Life (Singapore).

He will succeed Ho Lee Yen, who has decided to spend more time with her family, having successfully completed the integration of the businesses of AXA Singapore and HSBC Insurance.

Bindra joined HSBC in 2018.

Ocorian

The financial services provider has appointed Chantal Free as chief executive.

Free joins Ocorian from Capita, where she was chief executive of its portfolio division.

Sesame Bankhall Group (SBG)

The group has appointed Richard Harrison as chief executive.

He will join SBG from Wesleyan Assurance Society, where he is currently chief distribution officer.

Harrison joins SBG on 2 January 2024, at which point current interim chief executive John Cowan will resume his role as chair of the SBG board.

Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (Finma)

Urban Angehrn will step down at the end of September 2023 as chief executive.

It has appointed deputy chief executive Birgit Rutishauser as chief executive ad interim with effect from 1 October 2023.

Angehrn will be at her disposal to ensure an orderly handover of all business and for follow-up to the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS.

The board of directors has begun the process of filling the position of Finma chief executive.

Amundi

The asset manager has named Pierre Jond as chief executive of Amundi Luxembourg and chairman of Fund Channel, the B2B fund distribution platform jointly owned by Amundi and Caceis.

Before joining Amundi, Jond was head of France and Belgium region with BNP Paribas Securities Services.

Jond replaces Jeanne Duvoux, who has been appointed head of business support and operations for Amundi Group.

Fairstone Group

Peter Donaldson has been named as managing director of the firm’s partnership channel.

He moves from his current role as a Fairstone divisional director. Donaldson joined the business in 2021.

St James’s Place (SJP)

Joe Wiggins has been named as director of investment research for the wealth manager.

He will join SJP on 12 September and previously worked as chief investment officer at Fundhouse.

Seven Investment Management (7IM)

The wealth manager has appointed Agustin Fernandez as managing director for corporate and strategy development.

He joins from HSBC, where he was head of Emea wealth and asset management wealth tech within the investment banking division for four years. Fernandez joined HSBC in 2011.

Professional Wealth Management

The IWP-owned firm has hired Alex Tait and Will Welch as financial advisers.

The duo were previously professional rugby players for Newcastle Falcons.

Ascot Lloyd

The IFA group has appointed Jaco Cebula as group technology officer.

For the past 18 months, Cebula has worked closely with the Ascot Lloyd team in his role as a technology consultant for Sionic, a global consulting firm.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)

The Singapore regulator has appointed Chia Der Jiun as managing director.

Chia takes over from Ravi Menon, who will retire from the Singapore Public Service and step down as managing director.

He is currently Permanent Secretary (Development) at the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), had previously spent 18 years at MAS, where he played a leadership role across MAS’ major functions, including monetary policy implementation, reserve management, banking supervision, prudential policy, and macroeconomic surveillance.

Nedgroup Investments

The global asset manager has expanded its international distribution team with the hiring of Rachel Ferguson as client solutions lead, effective September.

Prior to joining Nedgroup, Ferguson worked as a business development manager at Aegon Asset Management (formally Kames Capital) and was with the firm for a total of seven years.

Rothschild & Co

The financial services giant has hired Alfredo Pérez de Quesada Garrido as a senior client adviser in Spain.

He has over 18 years’ experience in the financial industry and joins from Credit Suisse (Madrid).

Also, Rothschild & Co has hired five client advisers in its wealth management business in Zurich, to focus mainly on clients from Central and Eastern Europe. The new team joins from Credit Suisse.

The team is headed by Gerold Reiser, who has over 18 years’ experience as a private banker.

Alongside Reiser, the four other client advisers joining Rothschild & Co are Maciej Wiackowski, Magdalena Majewska Koch, Viktors Bolbats and Lars Lang.

Square Mile

The research and consulting firm has appointed Maria Mealing as a business development director.

Mealing has over 30 years’ industry experience, most recently as associate director at Janus Henderson.

Walker Crips Financial Planning

Matthew Crawshaw and Kaz Dev have joined the firm as regional director for the Midlands and assistant director in the south west region, respectively.

Crawshaw joins from Abrdn, where he was regional director for the north and midlands.

Dev joins from Francis Clark Financial Planning, where he served as head of professional services and chartered financial planner.

Third Financial

The investment platform has named David Lewis as chairman of its regulated entity Third Platform Services.

Most recently, he was managing director at BNY Mellon in London.

Tom Caddick, managing director of Nedgroup Investments (International), said: “It’s harder for boutiques to set up now because of the onerous regulatory requirements and the difficulty of raising sufficient capital. We want to facilitate start-up boutiques to better serve the needs of our clients and provide a wider range of investment opportunity.

“We can create a more diverse fund management sector for the benefit of the end investor. I’m thrilled to launch our innovative structure with two conviction managers I have known and respected for over 20 years.”

Fixed income veterans David Roberts and Alex Ralph will run an active global bond fund as the first launch of these in-house managed strategies.

Roberts said: “I have returned to active investing because market conditions are too compelling to ignore. I have always had conviction to invest when risk and reward are in the client’s favour. After a couple of years when return expectations were negative, we are back in an environment where fixed income is once again a diversifier, a very attractive alternative to equities. The old normal.”

Ralph added: “Many have been waiting a decade for this type of entry point and the possibility of earning significant, long-term positive returns without the need to venture into the dark, equity-like corners of the bond market.”