US-based alternative investor Ares Management is to set up a dedicated wealth management operation in Asia. The firm has recruited former HSBC portfolio manager Henry Lee to lead the new business in the newly created role of head of Asia for Ares Wealth Management Solutions (AWMS). Lee has also been made a partner in the firm’s Hong Kong office and will report to AWMS’s global head of wealth management, Raj Danda. He will oversee retail product development, distribution partnerships and relationships with financial intermediaries. Lee was previously at HSBC where he spent 16 years in a number of roles including global head of discretionary portfolio management and head of alternative investments for HSBC’s global private bank. Danda described the firm’s international expansion as a “significant growth opportunity” and said Lee’s appointment is a “pivotal step to enhance our presence in private markets across Asia”. © 2022 funds global asia