Private Markets – more appealing than ever?

Gary Leung is the Head of Managed Investments & Private Equity of Bank of Singapore based in Hong Kong, responsible for the selection, structuring and advisory of Alternative Investments, Mutual Funds and Discretionary products for the Bank’s clients. Gary’s experience spans across alternative investments, asset management, investment banking and private banking. Including Alternative Investment Specialist at BlackRock, HSBC Private Banking as the Head of Alternative Investments in Hong Kong, Private Equity investments at RimAsia Capital Partners, and Investment Banking at Deutsche Bank. Gary graduated from Imperial College London in Masters of Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management, and was awarded the Lee Memorial Prize.

Neeraj Seth, Managing Director, is the Head of Asian Credit and has been in his current role since 2009. He is the portfolio manager for the Asian Tiger Bond Fund and Asia Pacific private credit fund. He leads the strategy for Asian Fundamental Credit and is responsible for providing oversight of the investment process, performance, and the team's infrastructure as well as determining the strategic direction and growth initiatives of the platform. He has been responsible for building the Asian fundamental credit business since 2009. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2009, Mr. Seth was a Senior Vice President focusing on the Asia Pacific market for R3 Capital Partners. He previously held a similar role with the Global Principal Strategies team at Lehman Brothers. Previously, he was an Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company where he was in the leadership group for the Technology & Telecom practice in Southeast Asia. Mr. Seth earned a BE degree in mechanical engineering from Delhi University and an MBA degree in finance from the Indiana University of Kelley School of Business.

Gareth Lewis is the Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Delio, a specialist technology firm that works with banks, wealth managers and other financial institutions to digitise and accelerate their private markets propositions. In little over five years, Delio has grown from an embryonic idea to one of the leading players in the wealthtech space, counting the likes of Barclays, UBS, National Australia Bank and ING as clients. Prior to co-founding Delio, Gareth trained as an accountant and worked in a variety of corporate finance roles for Ernst & Young and boutique finance firms.

Drawing upon his extensive leadership experience and industry knowledge, Arjan is responsible for the entire products and services offering in Asia and overlooks the regional investment strategy. Arjan started his financial career with Hollandsche Bank Unie (HBU), serving Private, Corporate and Institutional clients within a dealing room environment, and subsequently became Head of Treasury & Special Products Private Clients in the Netherlands. He has over 14 years of experience with ABN AMRO Private Banking, of which more than 7 years were spent in Asia. In early 2006, he relocated to Singapore to take up the position of Regional Head of Treasury & Special Products for Private Banking in Asia with ABN AMRO. With his strong understanding of the needs of Asian clients, Arjan moved to Hong Kong in April 2010 and was appointed Head of Private Banking for North Asia. Following this, he was appointed Head of North Asia at ANZ Private Bank before being appointed Head of Integration for ANZ Retail & Private Wealth Asia in April 2016. Arjan was appointed Head of Markets & Investment Solutions Asia at Indosuez Wealth Management in February 2017. Arjan graduated with a Master of Science in Business Economics from Nyenrode University, the Netherlands.

Over 25 years experience in the financial services industry as an Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and Managing Director (MD) at various global and domestic firms. George has managed investments across multiple asset classes (cash, fixed income, equities, property, PE/VC, alternatives), investment teams and funds management companies. Also, a part-time university lecturer in finance and an experienced MD of listed companies and NonExecutive Director (NED) of funds management firms and charities. Current roles include: Managing Director (MD) Head of Research, Investments & Advisory at K2 Asset Management; Director and Investment Adviser at Salter Brothers Asset Management; Investment Committee at Paua Wealth Management (Auckland, NZ); Advisory Board at the International Centre for Financial Services (ICFS), part-time lecturer in Finance and Visiting Fellow at The University of Adelaide, Business School. Historical experience includes: CIO at SBAM; MD and CIO at Contango Asset Management; Executive Director (ED) and Head of Investment Strategy & Consulting at UBS; CIO and Head of Asset Management at Equity Trustees; Senior Investment Manager at HSBC Asset Management; Investment Strategist at Macquarie Group; Economist at Westpac, NSW Treasury and SBC (now UBS); Director Blues Foundation at The Carlton Football Club; Executive Director, International Centre for Financial Services (ICFS) at the University of Adelaide Business School and Director at Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF). Education: Bachelor of Economics, Hon. Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia. Portfolio Management Executive Certificate from the AGSM at the University of New South Wales (UNSW); Executive Certificate in Management & Leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management; Investment Decisions & Behavioural Finance Program at Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government and the Securities & Derivatives Industry Association (SDIA) Accreditation (PS146).

Gareth Lewis is the Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Delio, a specialist technology firm that works with banks, wealth managers and other financial institutions to digitise and accelerate their private markets propositions. In little over five years, Delio has grown from an embryonic idea to one of the leading players in the wealthtech space, counting the likes of Barclays, UBS, National Australia Bank and ING as clients. Prior to co-founding Delio, Gareth trained as an accountant and worked in a variety of corporate finance roles for Ernst & Young and boutique finance firms.

Neeraj Seth, Managing Director, is the Head of Asian Credit and has been in his current role since 2009. He is the portfolio manager for the Asian Tiger Bond Fund and Asia Pacific private credit fund. He leads the strategy for Asian Fundamental Credit and is responsible for providing oversight of the investment process, performance, and the team's infrastructure as well as determining the strategic direction and growth initiatives of the platform. He has been responsible for building the Asian fundamental credit business since 2009. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2009, Mr. Seth was a Senior Vice President focusing on the Asia Pacific market for R3 Capital Partners. He previously held a similar role with the Global Principal Strategies team at Lehman Brothers. Previously, he was an Associate Partner with McKinsey & Company where he was in the leadership group for the Technology & Telecom practice in Southeast Asia. Mr. Seth earned a BE degree in mechanical engineering from Delhi University and an MBA degree in finance from the Indiana University of Kelley School of Business.

Drawing upon his extensive leadership experience and industry knowledge, Arjan is responsible for the entire products and services offering in Asia and overlooks the regional investment strategy. Arjan started his financial career with Hollandsche Bank Unie (HBU), serving Private, Corporate and Institutional clients within a dealing room environment, and subsequently became Head of Treasury & Special Products Private Clients in the Netherlands. He has over 14 years of experience with ABN AMRO Private Banking, of which more than 7 years were spent in Asia. In early 2006, he relocated to Singapore to take up the position of Regional Head of Treasury & Special Products for Private Banking in Asia with ABN AMRO. With his strong understanding of the needs of Asian clients, Arjan moved to Hong Kong in April 2010 and was appointed Head of Private Banking for North Asia. Following this, he was appointed Head of North Asia at ANZ Private Bank before being appointed Head of Integration for ANZ Retail & Private Wealth Asia in April 2016. Arjan was appointed Head of Markets & Investment Solutions Asia at Indosuez Wealth Management in February 2017. Arjan graduated with a Master of Science in Business Economics from Nyenrode University, the Netherlands.

Over 25 years experience in the financial services industry as an Investment Strategist, Portfolio Manager, Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and Managing Director (MD) at various global and domestic firms. George has managed investments across multiple asset classes (cash, fixed income, equities, property, PE/VC, alternatives), investment teams and funds management companies. Also, a part-time university lecturer in finance and an experienced MD of listed companies and NonExecutive Director (NED) of funds management firms and charities. Current roles include: Managing Director (MD) Head of Research, Investments & Advisory at K2 Asset Management; Director and Investment Adviser at Salter Brothers Asset Management; Investment Committee at Paua Wealth Management (Auckland, NZ); Advisory Board at the International Centre for Financial Services (ICFS), part-time lecturer in Finance and Visiting Fellow at The University of Adelaide, Business School. Historical experience includes: CIO at SBAM; MD and CIO at Contango Asset Management; Executive Director (ED) and Head of Investment Strategy & Consulting at UBS; CIO and Head of Asset Management at Equity Trustees; Senior Investment Manager at HSBC Asset Management; Investment Strategist at Macquarie Group; Economist at Westpac, NSW Treasury and SBC (now UBS); Director Blues Foundation at The Carlton Football Club; Executive Director, International Centre for Financial Services (ICFS) at the University of Adelaide Business School and Director at Women in Banking and Finance (WiBF). Education: Bachelor of Economics, Hon. Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia. Portfolio Management Executive Certificate from the AGSM at the University of New South Wales (UNSW); Executive Certificate in Management & Leadership from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sloan School of Management; Investment Decisions & Behavioural Finance Program at Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government and the Securities & Derivatives Industry Association (SDIA) Accreditation (PS146).

Michael is a prominent figure in the financial services industry in Asia. He is the founder and CEO of Hubbis, a renowned provider of intelligence and connectivity for the Asian wealth management industry. With a depth of experience and expertise, he has played a pivotal role in shaping the industry for over 30 years, becoming a leading industry presence in the events, professional development, and publishing space in the region. Hubbis is a multi-generational family-owned and managed business.

He has been actively involved in the Asia-Pacific region since 1993. And has lived in Asia since 1995, holding positions in Hong Kong, Sydney, and Singapore. 

For over 14-years, Hubbis has established itself as the gold standard media and events brand in wealth management thought leadership in Asia. Each year providing a very large body of cutting-edge editorial and sponsored content, organizing top-flight events. During that time Hubbis has become the platform of choice for many high-profile C-suite leaders to communicate their vision of the Asian wealth management.

Before his involvement with Hubbis, Michael founded Pacific Prospect in 2002, a financial services media company. Under his leadership, the company achieved significant success and was subsequently acquired by global business-to-business publisher Incisive Media in 2006. Michael continued to serve as the CEO of Pacific Prospect until October 2008. Prior to his entrepreneurial ventures, Michael garnered 5 years of experience in financial markets publishing.

His career in this field began in 1993 when he joined Euromoney Publications as the publisher of the quarterly magazine, International Bond Investor. In 1995, Michael joined Thomson Financial Services (now owned by LSEG) and spearheaded the conception and launch of Finance Asia magazine. During his tenure as Managing Director of Finance Asia, he also initiated the Asian Debt Review, Asian Private Capital Magazine, and the Finance Asia Conference Business. In 1997, he founded FIA Limited, further expanding his contributions to the financial publishing industry.

Born in North Wales, Michael served as the head boy of St David's College Llandudno. He holds a degree in Business Administration from Cardiff University. Beyond his professional endeavours, Michael is a family-oriented individual and is happily married with three children: Reanna, Garett, and Tarryn.