Credit Suisse hires Shvets as head of thematic research

Credit Suisse has hired three research analysts from the former team at Samsung Securities in Hong Kong, including industry veteran Viktor Shvets, who will take on a newly created position as head of thematic equity research for Asia-Pacific, sources say.

The Swiss bank has also brought on board Timothy Ross as head of Asia-Pacific transport research and Davin Wu as an associate in Ross’s team focusing on Chinese transport and infrastructure. Shvets and Wu are both based in Hong Kong, while Ross has joined the firm in Singapore. All three have started their new jobs this week and will be reporting to Ernest Fong, the head of equity research for non-Japan Asia.

The appointments come a little more than one month after Samsung Securities decided to shut down almost all of its banking and brokerage operations outside Korea, putting a stop to an aggressive expansion that had aimed to create a leading regional player in Asia. The closure came as a shock to most people working at the firm, as there had been no signs that the Korean parent company was wavering in its commitment towards the international business. Indeed, Samsung was still hiring late last year. Naturally, there was also a lot of concern that it would be difficult for the people affected by the closure to find new jobs quickly, given that most major banks are currently focusing on cost-cutting layoffs rather than on new hires.

So, it is encouraging to see that some former Samsung employees are already getting picked up by other firms.

Aside from the three hires made by Credit Suisse, sources say that Steve Man and Tommy Tam have been hired by Nomura to cover China autos and auto parts, while Victor Wong has joined Macquarie’s equity sales team for Hong Kong and China.

One source familiar with the Credit Suisse hires said the appointments show that the firm is still keen to hire senior people — Shvets and Ross are both joining as managing directors — for its research business in order to bring the best ideas and insights to its clients. Thematic equity research in particular is viewed as very important in the current volatile market environment when stock picking has become increasingly tricky. While the position that Shvets is taking on is new in Asia, the concept is by no means new to Credit Suisse, which held a conference in Singapore earlier this year focusing specifically on macro and big picture investing. The bank’s head of the global equity research product, Richard Kersely, is also responsible for developing thematic research globally.

The source said that Shvets’s role will be to help Credit Suisse’s clients to navigate a market environment that is heavily influenced by thematic and macro trends and to co-ordinate the firm’s research to highlight key investment themes and structural growth opportunities across the Asia-Pacific region.

Shvets has more than 25 years of experience in equity research across Australia, Asia-Pacific, the US, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. At Samsung Securities he held a dual role as head of research and chief strategist.

He joined Samsung from Lehman Brothers/Nomura in London, where he was co-head of equity research for emerging Europe, Middle East and Africa. He has also worked at Baring Securities and Deutsche Bank.

Timothy Ross joined Samsung Securities as head of Asian transport and infrastructure research in 2011. Between 1998 and 2005 he ran UBS’s transport research team in Asia and was also the global airlines analyst. He then left the firm for a stint on the board of AirAsia before re-joining UBS as an investment banker to run its regional coverage team focusing on the transport infrastructure sector.

Davin Wu was a transport analyst at Samsung Securities and has previously held similar positions at Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.

Meanwhile, Steve Man will help to broaden the China research at Nomura by initiating coverage of the China autos and auto parts sector. He also covered the automotive sector at Samsung. He has 10 years of experience in equity research and before joining Samsung he covered industrials at HSBC, Jefferies and Prudential Equity Group in the US. Man also has a background as an engineer and manager in manufacturing and production at General Motors in Canada.

Tommy Tam, who worked with Man at Samsung, was previously a business analyst and relationship associate in Citigroup’s global banking unit.

At Nomura, Man and Tam will both report to Stewart Callaghan, who is head of equity research for Asia ex-Japan.

Victor Wong, who, according to sources, has joined Macquarie, was previously a director in the Hong Kong and China sales team at Samsung. He has also worked with Nomura, UBS, Daiwa and Deutsche Bank.