The latest moves and appointments for senior roles for Asia-Pacific wealth management.

JP Morgan Asset Management
JP Morgan Asset Management has appointed Yuki Kurogi as head of its Japan exchange-traded fund as part of the Asia-Pacific ETF specialist team.

The build-out of Japan ETFs business comes at a time when the strong performance of the Japanese stock market, rising to December 1989 levels for the first time in recent years, has galvanised interest in the stock market.

Kurogi reports to Philippe El-Asmar, APAC head of the ETF, direct and digital business, JPMAM. 

The ETF sector is a “strategic priority” for the US firm’s global and regional business,” El-Asmar said.

With over 15 years of experience in the financial industry, Kurogi is joining the team from BlackRock, where he served as financial institutional sales for ETF and Index Investments, responsible for engaging and fostering client relationships, as well as planning and developing new ETF products. Before that, he worked in Nomura Securities’ fixed income team.

Ogier
Ogier Sustainable Investment Consulting, part of offshore law firm Ogier, has appointed Hardik Shah as a new client director in Singapore. 

Hardik has more than 15 years' experience in environmental, social and governance (ESG) research and investing, climate change and carbon credits advisory, and business intelligence.

Prior to this, Hardik was responsible for building investment and asset management firm GMO's global ESG capability across investment product areas and asset classes. His work included the creation of GMO’s proprietary country ESG model as well as the company-level GMO ESG score.

At Sustainalytics, an ESG and corporate governance research, ratings and analytics firm, he led a global team of analysts focused on ESG ratings and thematic research. Previously, Hardik was an ESG ratings associate at MSCI and a senior climate change consultant with Ernst & Young.

Squire Patton Boggs
Squire Patton Boggs has promoted senior private client and US tax lawyer Eric Peng Hu to the role of partner.

Based in the firm’s Hong Kong office, Eric Peng Hu offers US tax advice and helps to establish and operate structures for high net worth individuals on pre-immigration planning, investments in the US and international family planning with US connections. In addition, he assists clients in relation to wills, trusts, foundations and family offices, including drafting/reviewing wills and documents for family trusts and foundations, creating complex structures for trusts, foundations and family offices, helping management, transactions, restructuring and termination in relation to these structures.

Eric Peng Hu is one of 13 lawyers at the firm globally to have been promoted to partner this year.