Blair Pickerell, the former chief executive officer of HSBC investments in Asia, is moving to Morgan Stanley in June. Pickerell will take up a new role at Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) as managing director and head of Asia business. He will report to Owen Thomas, president of MSIM in New York, and regionally he will report to Hans Schuettler, CEO of Morgan Stanley Asia.
Pickerell’s resignation on April 10 took HSBC by surprise, especially since Pickerell stated that the HSBC position was "the biggest role in asset management in Asia" when he took the job in 2003.
Sources so far have speculated that Pickerell became unhappy when HSBC split its asset management business in two in 2004, creating HSBC Investments for the retail and passive businesses, and HSBC Halbis Partners for alpha-generating strategies. However, Pickerell’s arrival at Morgan Stanley coincides with that bank’s push in real estate.