Everstone Group’s managing director has joined UBS as an executive director. Separately, global brokerage and investment bank Vantage Capital Markets has appointed Federico Bazzoni as CEO of investment banking, while AXA IM Alts has appointed Lu Gao as head of Client Group Alts Asia.
Phull to focus on SE Asia, Australia at UBS
Atul Phull, Managing Director – Business Development at Asia-focused private equity firm Everstone Group, is reportedly joining the private funds group at UBS as an executive director, per an AVCJ report.
In this new role, Phull will focus on distribution, building on the fundraising work he performed for Everstone, according to the report. Based in Singapore, he will initially focus on the Southeast Asia and Australia markets.
Everstone is an investment group focused on cross-border North America–Asia investments and domestic investments in India and Southeast Asia, with assets of $6 billion across private equity, real estate, credit, climate change and green infrastructure, and venture capital.
Everstone has a significant resource base across its seven offices in Singapore, India (Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru), New York, Mauritius and the UAE, comprising best-of-breed investing, operations, and strategic resources with extensive skills and experience.
Vantage launches global investment banking division
Global brokerage and investment bank Vantage Capital Markets (VCM) has officially launched a new global investment banking division and announced the appointment of investment banking veteran Federico Bazzoni as CEO of investment banking, based in Hong Kong.
The new investment banking division aims to provide mid-cap ventures in high-growth sectors globally with access to industry-leading financing solutions and services across equity capital markets (ECM), debt capital markets (DCM), and corporate finance advisory. This division will be led by Bazzoni, who has more than 30 years of industry experience in leadership roles across Europe and Asia.
Further, he has spent more than a decade heading up the Asian and international capital markets desk at major global and regional investment banks, most recently at CLSA CITIC Securities.
The establishment of its investment banking division is a continuation of VCM’s strong growth over the past 12 months. This follows the opening of its Dubai office and creation of several new desks targeting key investor segments such as hedge funds and family offices globally.
Gao to drive AXA IM Alts’ Asia fundraising
Global alternative investment firm AXA IM Alts has appointed Lu Gao as head of Client Group Alts Asia as part of the recently announced evolution of the firm’s organisation structure into five dedicated business lines to prepare the business for its next stage of growth, according to an announcement.
In this role, Gao will work closely across all business lines to oversee the Client Group’s crucial role of raising new capital in Asia, expanding the business’ third-party client base, and maintaining AXA IM Alts’ strong long-term relationships with existing clients.
Based in Singapore, he will report directly to Florence Dard, global head of Client Group Alts.
Before joining AXA IM Alts, Gao was head of Asia Investor Relations at Farallon Capital Management, where he worked for more than six years. Before this, he held senior positions working with Asian investors at Goldman Sachs, Amundi Asset Management, and Sculptor Capital.