Legal & General Investment Management has snapped up Enhanced Investment Products’ Paul So and appointed him as head of index funds, Asia Pacific.
In the newly created role, Mr So will be based at LGIM’s Asia Pacific regional headquarters in Hong Kong and will be responsible for building a team of index portfolio managers and traders in the region.
He will report into global head of index funds, Ali Toutounchi and head of LGIM Asia Pacific, Alan Flynn.
Mr Flynn says Mr So’s appointment is an important development for its regional business as it builds its asset management capability in Hong Kong.
Mr So joins LGIM from boutique asset manager, Enhanced Investment Products, where he was head of beta products for four years. Previously he was a director within the portfolio management group at Blackrock. He started his career as an analyst at Mercer Investment Consulting.
LGIM’s commitment to active management has been called into question recently by multi-managers and advisers after Richard Hodges, the star manager of its £2bn Dynamic Bond Trust, announced he was quitting the group in October after seven years’ service.
His departure follows that of fellow bond managers Michel Canoy and David North in the past 18 months as the business has pushed its core focus as a tracker fund manager.
Last year the firm launched its L&G Multi Index funds, a range of fettered index-tracker funds and managing director Simon Pistell said the firm was preparing for a surge in passive sales.
