Giuseppe Corona is bringing his whole AMP Capital team with him to HSBC
HSBC Asset Management has beefed up its alternative investment capability by adding a listed infrastructure equity team recruited from Australia’s AMP Capital.
Led by Giuseppe Corona, the team has worked together for more than five years managing close to $2 billion in listed infrastructure equity assets. It will be split between London and Sydney and report to Joanna Munro, chief executive of HSBC Alternatives under the asset management division of the UK-based global bank.
The team will help HSBC AM launch its first global infrastructure equity strategy, investing in a portfolio of listed infrastructure assets in both developed and developing equity markets. The strategy will focus on the communication, energy, transport and utilities sectors.
“HSBC AM is strongly aligned with our commitment to delivering excellent investment returns to clients, while promoting sustainable investing,” Corona said Monday in a release. “Listed infrastructure has seen significant growth over the last decade. We expect this trend to continue, supported by secular tailwinds such as the ongoing digitalisation of the economy and the vital need to transition to a lower carbon environment.”
Seeking Alternatives
HSBC AM last year announced plans to bring together all of its existing alternatives segments under a single business unit, HSBC Alternatives, with a 150-strong team and combined assets under management and advice of $47 billion.
HSBC appointed Victoria Sharpe to run its real estate fund business last year
Munro described the addition of the listed infrastructure team as “another pivotal step” in HSBC Alternatives’ growth.
“Infrastructure equity fits perfectly with our strategy of bringing core and innovative solutions to institutional and wealth clients who are increasingly looking to diversify and allocate more to alternatives,” she said. “Asset classes like infrastructure are ideally placed as they allow them to do this with a sustainable focus.”
Italian native Corona joins HSBC AM after a decade spent at Sydney-based AMP, including the last five years as head of global listed infrastructure.
After receiving a bachelor’s degree in economics and business administration from his hometown University of Palermo, Corona earned an MBA from St John’s University in New York. There he started his career at investment bank Bear Stearns, working as an equities dealer and analyst from 1999 until the firm’s demise in 2008.
Corona will be based in London along with team members Antonio Barbera, Andy Jones, Michel Debs and Jessica Nguy, while Joseph Titmus and Claire Zhang will mind the store in Sydney.
Asian Real Estate Push
The latest announcement follows HSBC Alternatives’ appointment last September of an Asian real estate team led by industry veteran Victoria Sharpe.
Formerly head of real estate for Asia Pacific at Deutsche Bank affiliate DWS, Sharpe joined HSBC AM as managing principal and head of APAC real estate. Her Singapore-based team reports locally to Patrice Conxicouer, HSBC AM’s Singapore CEO and head of Southeast Asia.
The fund manager continued to add new faces to its regional leadership in November with the hiring of Fidelity International executive Daisy Ho as CEO for Asia Pacific and Hong Kong. Based in Hong Kong, Ho is responsible for growing the firm’s business in the region and expanding its footprint into mainland China, India and ASEAN.
Financial services firm AMP Ltd last April announced plans to demerge AMP Capital’s private markets business, including infrastructure equity, infrastructure debt and real estate.
In March, fellow Aussie firm Macquarie Asset Management completed its acquisition of AMP Capital’s global equity and fixed income business. The demerged AMP Capital now trades as Collimate Capital, with a listing on the Australian Securities Exchange planned for the first half of this year.
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