Former Fed official to head Morgan Stanley's Hong Kong fund

Morgan Stanley's fund division has hired former New York Federal Reserve official Dino Kos to helm its Hong Kong-based central banks and sovereign wealth funds.

The latter will take on all aspects of the fund manager's coverage of central banks and sovereign wealth fund outside of the United States. In addition, he will also be responsible for managing US$40 billion worth of euro and yen reserves. He will be reporting to Blair Pickerell, head of Morgan Stanley Investment Management Asia.

As central banks and sovereign wealth funds are a key strategic set of clients for Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Kos's extensive experience will provide added value required in this market and allow him to make a significant contribution to the growth of the business. Kos also added that the growing demand from central banks and sovereign wealth funds for tailored investment solution is forming substantial opportunities. One case in such was the Chinese state investment fund's US$3 billion deal in 10% in private equity Blackstone Group. The sovereign wealth funds are projected to be worth about US$2.5 million and could grow to US$12 trillion by year 2015.

Kos has over 20 years of experience at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. He was the former executive vice president of the markets group, taking charge of all trading activities like government securities, foreign exchange and foreign reserves management.