The wealth and asset management business of Canada’s largest insurer, Manulife, has announced a new head of Asia, amid recent job cuts in the team, according to a company announcement on Thursday.
Manulife Wealth and Asset Management (WAM) is hiring Fabio Fontainha from Citigroup. Effective February next year, Fontainha will be based in Hong Kong, succeeding Michael Dommermuth, who is leaving the firm at the end of the year.
The move follows recent news that the division was said to be cutting 2.5% of its global workforce, resulting in the loss of 225 jobs, according to multiple media reports. The layoffs, not specific to Canada, are being made to “focus on high-growth priorities”.
“We have grown a relatively small business in Hong Kong, Japan, and Indonesia, amounting to $17 billion of AUM, to over $150 billion of AUM in Asian markets stretching from Japan to India and everything in between,” Dommermuth, who has been with Manulife for over three decades, said in a LinkedIn post announcing his departure.
Manulife WAM has more than C$1.2 trillion ($859 billion) of assets under management and administration, with offices across Canada, the US, Asia, Oceania, and Europe.
In another management shuffle at the Toronto-based insurance giant, Manulife Asia CEO Phil Witherington will take over as group CEO from next year, per an announcement earlier this week. He will replace Roy Gori, who will retire and serve as an adviser.
According to the company’s third-quarter report last week, Asia was the largest contributor to its profit with 44% of the group earnings coming from the region, up from 37% last year. The insurer also reported a 17% increase in Asia core earnings.
