AsianInvestor has hired one of Asia's leading pensions experts to help the magazine promote a series of conferences in the asset management industry. The magazine plans to sponsor four to six events next year throughout the region that will cover topics such as pension reform, alternative investments including hedge funds and private equity, and trends in institutional and retail asset management.
Jonathan Watkin has over 25 years of experience in the pensions, insurance and investment industries, having worked in Hong Kong, Australia and the United Kingdom. Alongside his new role, he will also remain a director of the Hong Kong Retirement Schemes Association (HKRSA), an industry body that provides its members with a range of services, from education and training to luncheon events and seminars.
In addition,Watkin provides consulting services to the industry on trustee, pensions and insurance related matters. He has been an advisor to fund management and financial services companies. He recently opened a school in China and has worked closely in his role at HKRSA with Hong Kong University Space, the university's further-education body, in developing education in pensions.
In 2003, he released a co-written book entitled 'Pensions and Retirement Funds in Hong Kong', a comprehensive publication on the industry in Hong Kong.
Prior to joining the HKRSA in 2002, he held senior management positions at HSBC Life, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and Principal, where he was actively involved in MPF developments.
Before coming to Hong Kong in 1997, he worked in Australia for several years in the employee benefits, investment, superannuation and pensions industry. He was with the Alexander Consulting Group (now part of AON) for seven years and was awarded as the top-performing consultant. Before leaving for Australia, he worked for pensions and insurance companies in the UK.
