The president of Nikko Asset Management Co. will step down to take responsibility for a massive pullout by investors from one of the firm’s managed funds, the company announced Monday.
Investors have withdrawn more than 3.7 trillion yen from a Nikko money management fund that included bonds of failed U.S. energy giant Enron Corp.
Kazuyoshi Kimura, the outgoing Nikko president, will be replaced by Masafumi Hikima, who is now a managing director.
Decisions will be finalized during an extraordinary shareholder meeting in January and a subsequent board meeting.
The firm decided to make personnel changes at an extraordinary board meeting Sunday. Kimura, who took over as president in June, will become chairman-an honorary post.
The current chairman, Satoru Takahashi, and senior managing director, Masahito Omachi, in charge of managing the battered fund, stepped down Monday.
Enron’s failure drove the Nikko fund below its par value of 10,000 yen on Nov. 29. As of Dec. 16, the price stood at 9,828 yen.
The total balance of Nikko’s managed funds has plummeted from more than 3.9 trillion yen as of Oct. 31 to about 280 billion yen as of Dec. 13.
Funds managed by Nikko Asset are marketed through Nikko Cordial Securities Inc. and other financial institutions.