Eastspring Investments, the Asia money management arm of Prudential PLC, established a business in Luxembourg to distribute the firm’s Asia-focused investment strategies to institutional and retail investors in the U.K. and Europe, according to an Eastspring news release Wednesday.
The move follows the firm’s launch of a U.S. sales and distribution effort in June 2012.
Henk Ruitenberg, who had served as the CEO of Eastspring’s business in Vietnam, will lead the money manager’s efforts in Europe as executive board member of Eastspring Investments (Luxembourg) SA.
Nguyen Tuan Thien An, chief investment officer of Eastspring Investments Fund Management (Vietnam), was named CEO, a spokeswoman confirmed. He will remain CIO as well.
In the news release, Graham Mason, the CEO of Eastspring Investments, said Eastspring Investments (Luxembourg) will set up a branch office in the U.K. in the coming months, pending regulatory approval. He said European investors — such as “pension funds in the Nordics and the Benelux regions” — are seeking exposure now to Asian equities and fixed income.
Eastspring Investments currently has about $94.4 billion in assets under management in fixed income or equity strategies, according to the news release.