His appointment signals a significant push for Threadneedle, the international investment arm of Ameriprise Financial, into Asia. His role will be to expand relationships and build on the established presence of Ameriprise’s asset management businesses in the region. He will be able to leverage the investment capabilities of Threadneedle and its sister company Columbia.
Yu is a senior international financial services figure with almost 30 years experience working across Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the UK and the US. He was a member of the Merrill Lynch operating committee and chairman, Asia Pacific region, between July 2000 and December 2008.
He was responsible for leading an integrated platform across businesses and geographies, developing long-term strategies across the firm’s asset management, wealth management, global markets, investment banking and principal investments businesses, managing high-level client relationships and working closely with regulators and government agencies.
He held a number of other senior positions at Merrill Lynch including the firm’s first Singapore-based regional director, with responsibility for managing private client activities in Asia Pacific, Australia, India, Japan, the Middle East, Europe and the UK, and the Asian business in the US.
Threadneedle established a presence in Asia in 2008 and has offices in Hong Kong and Singapore.
