Associate, Asia ex Japan Client Group

Summary of Role:
The Asia ex Japan institutional Client Group is comprised of Sales, Client Relations Associates, Business Development/Product Specialists, Marketing professionals and many other colleagues dedicated to servicing and building an engaging environment where institutional client relationships built on knowledge and trust can flourish. Within the department, Client Relations Associates work in a team environment, comprised of Sales and Associates to support institutional client service and sales support/prospecting efforts for the Asia ex Japan region.

The purpose of this role is to support Sales with servicing institutional clients in Asia ex Japan as well as supporting business development efforts with clients and prospects.

The successful candidate will be a motivated self-starter, with knowledge of the asset management industry and capable of working in a fast-paced environment. Candidates must be detail-oriented and possess strong analytical, communication and organisational skills. The ability to work successfully in a team is a must. An undergraduate university degree is preferred, and prior relevant work experience is desirable. A strong work ethic and healthy ambition for responsibility is also essential.

Responsibilities:
The Associate, Asia ex Japan Client Group coordinates all client activity and provides the central point of reference for internal and external contacts associated with an institutional client relationship. Associates are in constant communication with clients and various internal departments to ensure client expectations are met or exceeded—they are the advocates for the client. This includes building effective and trusted relationships first and foremost with their Sales colleagues, but also with colleagues in portfolio management, business development, operations, client reporting, legal and compliance, among others.

Associates are responsible for handling client and prospect requests specific to the relationships to which they are assigned. This includes, but is not limited to:

• First point of contact for client enquiries
• Collaborating with internal departments/stakeholders (including portfolio management, business development, operations, client reporting, legal and compliance, among others) to successfully address client queries (including product/performance/market/meeting-related; operational issues; legal amendments; billing queries etc)
• Partnering with Sales to provide support and ensure strong client relationships that are built on trust and credibility
• Ensuring each stage in the lifecycle of a client relationship progresses as smoothly as possible (including introduction, coordination/negotiation of legal agreements, new account on-boarding, involvement in the AML processes for new clients and ongoing compliance monitoring, ongoing support/client service)
• Organising, attending and participating in internal pre-meetings to prepare for external meetings and events, and coordinating the follow-up afterwards
• Organising, attending, participating in and occasionally hosting in-person or virtual meetings with clients and prospects
• Attending and participating in internal team meetings
• Coordinating and overseeing client servicing and prospecting materials: presentations, RFIs/RFPs, due diligence questionnaires, ad hoc requests, general correspondence, etc
• Overseeing the new account take-on process including coordination of legal, portfolio management and operational items with the relevant internal departments
• Supporting regular and ad hoc client reporting requirements
• Ensuring the accuracy of data in AB’s client relationship management system (Salesforce)

Skills / Experience Required:

• Must be a team player and work well with Sales, Client Service and other team members
• Undergraduate university degree – financial/economics background is desirable
• Candidates should have an interest in the financial industry and be enthusiastic and motivated
• At least 3 years prior relevant work experience, ideally including 1-2 years in client servicing within asset management
• Strong time management and organisation skills with the ability to handle multiple tasks, work under pressure and prioritise in order to meet deadlines
• Motivated, dynamic self-starter, willing to take ownership of work and ability to handle assignments and projects with minimal direction
• Strong analytical and numerical skills, detail-oriented
• Candidates should be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint
• Strong communication skills – preferred languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin and Korean

Hong Kong