Joshua Crabb will join OMGI on 1 October as its head of Asian equities. Kris Whitlock and Dmitry Lapidus also make the move over to support Crabb in running the firm’s Asian equities offerings.
Crabb will initially work from London before moving out to Hong Kong when the necessary regulatory approvals have been received. He has been at BlackRock in Hong Kong since 2007 and his investment career spans 18 years with his previous employers also including Prudential Asset Management in Hong Kong and Bankers Trust in Sydney.
The move forms part of OMGI’s strategy to expand into selected markets around the world and follows the earlier hiring of Carol Wong and her Hong Kong based team.
OMGI said that as with the appointment of Richard Buxton and his team in 2013, the latest hiring effort demonstrates its commitment to deliver on its ‘ambitious plans’.
Reporting to OMGI CEO to Julian Ide, Crabb will lead the development of the firm’s Asian equities range. Staring 15 October the team will initially manage two funds, the $270m Old Mutual Pacific Equity Fund and the $40m Old Mutual Asian Equity Fund. These are sub-funds of the Dublin domiciled Old Mutual Global Investors Series plc umbrella fund. The products will be core to OMGI’s UK and offshore client base, it said.
“I believe these to be terrific appointments,” said Ide. “Hiring such a high profile, high performing alpha manager clearly demonstrates Old Mutual Global Investors is an attractive destination for top talent. Joshua will strongly support our strategy of focusing on global financial institutions, supported by our Latin America, Europe and Asian distribution teams,” he added.
