Eastspring Investments, the $254bn Asian investment management arm of Prudential, announced today (19 August) the appointment of former HSBC chief investment officer Bill Maldonado as head of equities.

Based in Singapore, Maldonado will report to Boon Peng Ooi, head of Eastspring portfolio strategies after commencing his role on 6 September subject to regulatory approval.

He has nearly 30 years of global asset management experience, mostly recently as the Asia Pacific chief investment officer and global chief investment officer, equities at HSBC Global Asset Management.

Boon Peng Ooi said: "His extensive knowledge and proven track record in leading equity investment teams and diversifying product offerings will be critical to the long-term growth of our business."

Wai-Kwong Seck, chief executive, Eastspring Investments, said, "Bill's appointment is aligned with our ongoing commitment to evolve our offerings in a fast-changing market environment, and to deliver innovative, high quality investment solutions for our clients. Strengthening our Eastspring Portfolio Strategies team is an important step towards achieving our ambition of establishing an equity leadership position in Asia and expanding Eastspring's reach beyond Asia."

Maldonado said: "Eastspring has a rich heritage and successful track record managing equity strategies in Asia. I am very excited and look forward to working closely with the team to further build, diversify and expand our equity capabilities to meet the evolving needs of our clients and distribution partners."