Timothy Tse resigns as CEO of Hong Kong fund house Value Partners
Founder Cheah Cheng Hye will assume charge of the fund he founded in 1993, until a successor is found
Timothy Tse, chief executive of Value Partners, is stepping down after five years in the top job and a decade at the Hong Kong fund house to pursue other business opportunities.
Value Partners’ founder and chairman Cheah Cheng Hye will serve as interim CEO until a successor is found.
Tse said his departure was amicable. “The company has experienced different cycles throughout my 10 years here. It is time for me to move on and look for other business opportunities,” he told the Post.
“Value Partners has seen high growth these past five years. It has been a a tremendously successful platform. I am very grateful for all the opportunities that Mr Cheah has given me. I have learned a from him. It was more than business,” Tse said.
Under Tse, Value Partners transformed from a Greater China equities fund house to an Asia-Pacific investment platform. During his tenure the fund expanded its franchise in mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore, while alsotaking up new mandates fromEuropean and US institutional investors. The company’s assets under management have grown from US$7.2 billion in 2011 to US$14 billion now.
Tse’s departure has come after a tough year in Asian markets, with Value Partners’ first half 2016 net profits plummeting 99 per cent year on year to HK$3 million. Assets under management, the sole source of fee incomes for fund managers, were down as clients pulled back from making new investments and redeemed US$4.7 billion in the first nine months. Net outflows from Value Partners amounted to US$1.8 billion in the first nine months of this year.
Even though assets and management fee incomes were down, JPMorgan analyst Jemmy Huang said Value Partners had done little to rein in costs, which contributed to volatile business and “very poor” financial results. “Total expenses were down only 6 per cent as fixed expenses increased 12 per cent for overseas expansions. Share-based compensation expenses will stay high in 2016 and 2017,” she said.
