Allfunds continues to strengthen its North-Asian reach with the appointment of Sebastien Chaker as Head of the Hong Kong office, which opened in early 2020. The B2B wealthtech and fund distribution platform is present in Asia since 2016.
In a press release, they explained that in his new role, Chaker will focus on managing the relationships with over 50 distributors Allfunds currently has across the region. He will also lead efforts to identify new opportunities to further develop their business in North Asia and complement the efforts of the commercial team in Singapore who currently works with top-tier clients in other countries in the region. All in all, he will report directly to David Pérez de Albéniz, Head of Asia at Allfunds, who is based in Singapore.
Chaker brings over 20 years’ experience to the role, having most recently served as an executive board member for Clearstream Fund Centre AG (Zurich), overseeing its regional Fund Centre sales efforts and promoting the entire Investment Fund Services product and service suite to local clients. He previously held senior roles at UBS, as well as Calastone, where he established and ran Asian operations upon relocating to Hong Kong with the firm in 2013.
“We are delighted to welcome Sebastien to Allfunds. His experience, deep market knowledge and leadership skills make him a perfect addition to our growing local team. Asia is a key market for Allfunds and we are committed to expand our reach an scope through key hires such as Sebastien, as well as by extending our activities further in the region”, said Juan Alcaraz, CEO of Allfunds.
Meanwhile, Pérez de Albéniz, Regional Manager Asia, commented that since opening the Hong Kong office, they have continued to see “strong demand” from the region’s distributors and fund managers for the services they provide. “We are well-positioned to support a growing client base in the region and are excited to welcome Sebastien to lead these efforts going forward”, he added.
In his view, Allfunds’ regional clients benefit from their team’s expert knowledge, and a technologically-advanced product suite available internationally: “We are proud that our sophisticated product offering has continued to evolve and meet the needs of fund managers and distributors. I look forward to working closely with Sebastien to continue optimising our service in North Asia.”
The Asia region remains a core strategic growth area for Allfunds with a current pipeline of strong AuA growth: since 2018 assets in Asia have grown from nearly zero to over USD 50bn. Recently Allfunds also received approval to operate a WOFE (Wholly Owned Foreign Enterprise) in Shanghai, which will allow the sale of its digital capabilities in Mainland China, boosting exposure outside of Hong Kong.
For Funds Society, Madrid
For Constanza Ramos