Seattle, Washington-headquartered Russell Investments, a subsidiary of Northwestern Mutual, has named Trevor Persaud as practice leader of its consulting and advisory business in the ASEAN, India, Hong Kong, and Taiwan.

Persaud will lead the development and delivery of investing consulting services to clients in the above regions, covering business areas including investment advisory, asset allocation, strategic asset tilting, risk management, and portfolio construction.

He reports directly to Mahendran Nathan, chief executive for the ASEAN, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and India.

"Over the last year, several large Asian institutions have approached us seeking investment consulting and advisory services, particularly in the area of governance, risk and compliance," Nathan said.

"Against a global backdrop of greater market volatility and tightening regulatory oversight, Asian institutions are realizing the importance of remaining abreast of global test practices, or they risk falling short of expectations," he added.

Persaud's appointment is the second Russell has made in Asia over the last few months. In late 2010, the company brought in Jiro Shimpo as director of alternative investment consulting for Japan and North Asia.

Russell manages around $149 billion in assets, as at 30 September 2010.