How does he do it? Desmond How, that is. For the third consecutive year, and from 2009 to 2011, Nomura's head of Global Capital Management has been ranked first in Asset Benchmark Research's annual poll of most Astute Investors in Hong Kong. There was one small glitch in 2012 when he paused at third before rebounding the following year. "Desmond's name needs no introduction," says one top-ranking salesperson. "I've known him for over 10 years at the various shops that he was working at. Desmond has a very strong trading sense - he's able to get a very strong macro view on where assets are being priced. I guess he's just got a very strong trader's instinct in terms of where asset prices are going." And in an industry that has seen as much volatility of personnel as of prices, nine of the top ten most Astute Investors from 2014 in Hong Kong are also highly placed this year. In second place, Rob Stanley at BFAM Partners takes a giant stride up from fifth in 2014, while Arthur Lau (PineBridge Investments), Madeline Foo (BTG Pactual Asset Management) and Ran Li (Nomura Global Capital Management) show tenacity remaining in the top echelons.
In Singapore, Ronie Ganguly at PIMCO also tops the ranking again this year. Mark Thurgood at Saka Capital has moved up two spots to rank second in 2015. The newcomers to the top five ranking this year include Salman Niaz at Goldman Sachs Asset Management who ranks fourth and Kon Chee-Keat at Ashmore Investment Management who ranks fifth, both have moved up from being ranked eighth and seventh respectively in 2014.
In Korea, Lee Kyoung-Taek at Korea Investment Corporation maintains his top position and has ranked first since 2012. One salesperson points out: "He is one of the investors who are very much in touch with the market moves and is very fast. When it comes to investors, some are more fundamental and some are more technical. I think he's a good mix of both". Nadine Alapan at Banco de Oro also retains her winning spot in the Philippines which she has held since 2010. In the UK/Europe, Alistair Ling at GLG Market Neutral Fund continues the trend to rank first for the seventh consecutive year. An analyst explains why he stands out: "He just strikes me as someone who thinks about the market in a more sensible way and a more strategic way than many of his peers. To be honest more than anything else, when I go into meetings with him there is more interaction, there's more discussion. I think he thinks about the market in the same way that I do, from a very top-down basis".
Chia Tse-Chern who ranked sixth in Singapore in 2014 now heads the fixed income team at Nomura Asset Management in Taiwan. He tops the Taiwan ranking this year. A salesperson lauds his work: "He is one of the smartest portfolio managers I have worked with in the last few years. He is an economist by training and that skillset has given him a superb top-down approach to investing in Asia credit".
In Indonesia and Malaysia, Ezra Nazula at Manulife Aset Manajemen Indonesia and Jason Wong at Hong Leong Bank are the forerunners this year. These two investors ranked second place last year and have climbed up to first in 2015. A salesperson praised Jason's comprehension of the various asset classes: "Especially in a year where FX rates have moved more than credit, I think he's able to have a better understanding and have a better market timing than say a pure credit guy". In the US, Javier Segovia at TCW has moved up from third to first place this year. A strategist explains: "He's a very thorough investor. He does a lot of homework when he comes on the road to meet with issuers".
This year 588 Astute Investors were nominated by analysts, economists/strategists, salespeople and traders and 107 are ranked across 10 markets.
Please click here to view the rankings of the most Astute Investors in Asian G3 bonds for 2015
The ranked investors will be honoured at a gala dinner. For more information please click here .
