Towers Perrin has effectively removed itself from investment consulting in Asia ex-Japan. In Singapore, its consultant Glen Howard has seen his position eliminated, while in Hong Kong, Jonathan Goll has resigned, leaving only Yvonne Chan to wave the consulting flag in the region.
The retreat stems from a recent agreement clinched in Australia, where Towers maintains an active business, to outsource manager research regionally to rival Frank Russell, leaving Towers to focus on asset allocation work. According to industry players, however, the Singapore office mainly just did manager research and the remaining business was too small to be sustained.
Its key client had been the Monetary Authority of Singapore, but the project to oversee investment...
