Chan joins after four years as head of investment in China at the World Gold Council. He has previously held senior roles at Huaan Asset Management, Amundi and Fidelity. Chan will be based in Hong Kong.

“We are very excited to expand our business into China, where gold is such an important asset class," said Steven Feldman, chief executive and co-founder of GBI. 

"We continue to replicate our strategy in more regions around the globe. While our focus remains the wealth business, we are also launching GBI Direct internationally, often with local partners.”

The firm, which recently launched in the Middle East, highlighted that China and India are the world's top two gold consumers, accounting for around half of global demand.