SINGAPORE — Eastspring Investments has appointed former J.P. Morgan Asset Management executive Sean Cunningham as head of capital markets, a newly created role aimed at building the Prudential-owned asset manager’s exchange-traded fund capabilities.
Cunningham, whose appointment took effect on August 11, will be based in Singapore and report to Ioannis Kampouris, Eastspring’s head of quantitative strategies.
He will lead the development of the firm’s ETF capital markets function, including establishing market infrastructure, relationships with market makers and operational capabilities needed to support an ETF business.
The move comes as Eastspring, which managed $269 billion in assets as of the end of March, seeks to broaden its investment platform and give clients more ways to access its strategies. The firm said active management would remain a core focus.
“Active management in a diverse and dynamic Asia remains our core strength,” Eastspring Chief Investment Officer Vis Nayar said.
Nayar said Cunningham’s experience would help the company broaden access to its investment expertise and develop new solutions as client preferences evolve.
Cunningham brings more than 20 years of investment and capital markets experience spanning ETFs, trading, market structure and product development.
He most recently served as head of ETFs for Asia at J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Hong Kong, where he was responsible for expanding the firm’s ETF business across the region.
Cunningham previously held senior roles at BlackRock’s iShares and Schroders Investment Management.
Eastspring is the Asia-based asset management arm of Prudential plc and serves institutional and retail investors.
Its investment strategies span equities, fixed income, multi-asset, quantitative strategies and alternatives.
The asset manager has operated since 1994 and maintains a presence across several Asian markets.
Business News Asia
