Bank of the Philippine Islands Asset Management and Trust Group has named Theresa Marcial Javier as its new group head.

Ms Javier was previously the deputy group head of the same company. She takes over from Adelbert Legasto, who retired last month but still serves as the bank's senior advisor and consultant. She is also to continue with her other role as the company's chief investment officer.

BPI Asset Management has a mix of institutional, retail and wealth management businesses, and is currently the largest fund management company in the Philippines in terms of assets under management. As of July 2009, it holds $8.6 billion worth of assets.

"We expect tremendous opportunity in the retail and wealth management space, and we shall capitalise on the strength of BPI's over 800-strong distribution network of branches all over the country," said Ms Javier in a statement, commenting on the marked rise of mass affluent individuals not only in the Philippines but in the Asian region.

"Right now, the number of overseas Filipino workers investing in funds is still very small, but the potential is there," she added. "I believe this will happen in stages. They are addressing their needs first and are buying houses, cars, paying for their children's education. But as they become more affluent, they will most likely be looking at the next stage, which will be investments."