Bruno Lee has joined Invesco as its Taiwan CEO, after leaving Fidelity Investments where he had worked for 12 years, most recently as general manager of its Taiwan securities investment trust enterprise (Site).
He now reports to Liang Hua-dong, the former Taiwan general manager who is now overseeing Invesco's Greater China strategy, spending most of his time in Shenzhen running the firm's joint venture with Great Wall Securities; and locally to Sylvia Tai, who has been promoted to chairwoman of Invesco's Site.
Fidelity's Taiwan country head, Patrick Shea, is looking for a replacement to run its Site. Fidelity also has a securities investment consulting enterprise (Sice) and a brokerage; under Taiwan law these are regarded as separate legal entities with their own management.
Invesco, which has no Sice in Taiwan, manages around NT$70 billion ($2.1 billion) of retail mutual funds as well as around $200 million in institutional money, according to insiders.
Lee says his mission will be to grow the business now that the business has been restructured and integrated with the regional platform following Invesco's $115 million acquisition of 70% of Grand Pacific in 2001. Grand Pacific was among Taiwan's 10 largest investment managers at the time. That work is done and with improved market conditions, the time is right to raise Invesco's profile.
To that end, Lee says an advertising campaign is in store, albeit one emphasizing targeted not blanket coverage. He also wants to introduce new product ideas to distributors, noting that 80-90% of the entire retail funds industry's assets are in domestic bond funds. Invesco is looking at flexible balanced portfolios, as well as ways to provide product for banks or insurance companies' investment-linked businesses.
On the institutional front, Lee would like to work with corporate clients facing challenges should domestic interest rates begin to rise, and help them diversify offshore. He also wants to ensure Invesco can assist the government as it considers passing a defined-contribution pensions law, which is now sitting with the Legislative Yuan.
Lee entered the industry with Fidelity in his native Hong Kong 12 years ago, and eventually ran retail sales there. He then moved to wholesale sales for Korea and Singapore, and helped Fidelity launch its MPF business, immediately after which he was sent to Taiwan. There he has spent one year each running Fidelity's Sice, brokerage and lastly its Site.
