Fund manager Invesco has acted swiftly to replace its departing Asian chief investment officer Patrick Shum, who left the firm this week.

It has appointed Paul Chan, formerly head of Invesco's Hong Kong pension business, to fill the job.

Shum is believed to have joined Goldman Sachs, but InvestorDaily could not confirm the move last week.

He joined Invesco as chief investment officer in November 2004 from Asia Strategic Investment Management, a company he co-founded.

Standard & Poor's Fund Services placed the three-star-rated Invesco Asian Share Fund on hold following the resignation of Shum.
 
"Shum is considered a significant departure, for he is highly experienced and acts as much in the capacity of a head of equities as a chief investment officer," S&P fund analyst Tara Bell said.

"This departure raises questions concerning the stability of the team, because it follows the departure of his predecessor James Cheung only months ago."
 
"We will review the 'on hold' rating once we have had an opportunity to meet with Shum's replacement."
 
Invesco has suffered from a series of departures in Australia this year.

Long-time head of Invesco's Australian equities team Rohan Walsh and portfolio manager Luke Sinclair left the fund in March to join boutique fund Bell Asset Management.

Mark Landau, an investment manager in Invesco's small companies team also left this year. Invesco hired former Merrill Lynch and UBS small caps manager Andrew Perks to replace him.