(May 30): Morgan Stanley is beefing up its private wealth management business in Asia, with two Hong Kong-based senior hires from rival banks. 

The Wall Street firm hired Edwin Lim as the managing director and a sales manager for its Asia private wealth management business, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg News. Lim, a veteran Hong Kong private banker, will be joining from HSBC Holdings plc, where he was the market head for offshore China for the private bank. 

It also hired Terence Yu as a co-chief investment officer and the head of discretionary fixed income business in Asia private wealth. He previously worked at UBS Group AG.

They add to the recruitment of six seasoned relationship managers over the past 12 months, which “underscores our continued commitment to and confidence” in the ultra-high net worth business in Asia, the memo said. A Morgan Stanley spokesperson confirmed the contents of the memo.

Lim will also join the Asia wealth management operating committee, and help expand clients and accelerate talent recruitment.

Morgan Stanley has been beefing up its wealth operations in Asia-Pacific for years, after integrating the business with the firm’s institutional securities group. Globally, the bank has been turned into a wealth-management powerhouse, generating US$6.88 billion (RM32.35 billion) in revenue in the first quarter.