Kames Capital aims to crack Asian market

Kames Capital, the new name for AEGON Asset Management, has announced the opening of an office in Hong Kong and the appointment of James Cooper as its head of business development for Asia.

The move will see Kames Capital expanding into Asia for the first time. Initially Kames Capital will look at developing interest among Asian investors with its strong and award winning capabilities in fixed income, as well as property.

As head of business development for Asia, Cooper will report to Martin Harris, head of distribution at Kames Capital.

Commenting on the plans Harris said: "In the medium term we want to have some of our investment people based in Asia, this will help our management of both insurance company assets and third party assets. 

"We also recognise that Asian based investors want their money to be managed in the region if at all possible. As such we hope to be able to offer Asian funds to Asian investors managed and run by Kames Capital in Asia."

Prior to joining Kames Capital, Cooper worked at Liminal Image, which provides consulting services to the financial services industry. Previous to this, he was country head & investment director for Australia and Hong Kong at Standard Life Investments.

Kames Capital has a growing business in Europe particularly in Switzerland and also recently rebranded to become Kames Capital from AEGON Asset Management UK in September 2011.

www.kamescapital.com