The news reportedly came out at the publication's recently held South East Asia investment forum at the Marina Bay Sands Hotel, where he was one of the panelists. Russell has not responded to emails sent by WealthBriefingAsia seeking comment as of this writing.

Persaud joined the firm in 2011 as practice leader for consulting and advisory services in ASEAN, India, Hong Kong and Taiwan. In April 2012, he assumed his latest position, taking over from Mahendran Nathan, who left. Apart from his duties at Russell, he also functions as advisor for the Investment Management Association of Singapore and chairman of the IMAS risk and performance committee.