Northern Trust Global Investments (NTGI), the asset management arm of Chicago-based Northern Trust Corporation, has added to its team in Tokyo with the appointments of Mr. Shoji Yamada as Executive Adviser and Mr. Osamu Hattori as Head of Investment Management.
As Executive Adviser, Mr. Yamada will work closely with Northern Trust senior management on business development opportunities in Japan. He comes to NTGI with over 40 years’ experience in the banking and pensions industry. He joined from the Mizuho Pension Research Institute where he was Chairman from 2001. He began his career in 1963 at the Yasuda Trust and Banking Co. Ltd, which later became the Mizuho Trust and Banking Co. Ltd. He was appointed General Manager of the Pension Fund Management Department in 1987 and became Deputy President of the bank in 1997. He became the President of Daiichi Kangyou Fuji Trust Bank in 1999. Mr. Yamada is currently a part-time lecturer of Finance at Musashi University and Waseda University in Tokyo and is also a member of the Ethics Committee of Securities Analyst Association of Japan, The Council Board of the Research Institute for Policies on Ageing, The Study Committee of Employees’ Pension Fund conducted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Editing Committee of The Securities Analyst Journal (Japanese equivalent of Financial Analyst Journal)
Mr. Hattori has over 16 years’ experience in the investment management industry and comes to NTGI to lead the quantitative portfolio management team in Tokyo. NTGI currently manages approximately US$17 billion as at June 30th 2006 for Japanese clients in quantitative portfolios and others, positioning it among the top 10 investment managers in Japan, as defined by assets under management. Mr. Hattori joined NTGI from Mizuho Trust and Banking Co. Ltd, where he was Senior Fund Manager and Chief of the International Bond Team within the Passive/Quantitative Investment Management Office in Tokyo. Mr. Hattori is a CFA charterholder and a chartered member of the Security Analysts Association of Japan.
“Mr. Yamada and Mr. Hattori have excellent industry experience and technical expertise combined with a deep knowledge of the issues facing Japanese institutional investors,” says Mr. Kunihiko Nakao, Head of NTGI’s Japan office. “These qualities are very important as we seek to continue to provide client-driven investment solutions and build out our business in Japan. Over the past three years our assets under management in Tokyo have more than doubled. Hiring Mr. Yamada and Mr. Hattori will help us to accelerate the expansion of our business and enhance our status.”
“Further expanding our presence and extending our reach in the institutional market place are key elements of Northern Trust’s overall growth strategy in Japan and in Asia more widely over the next five years,” says Mr. Barry Sagraves, Chief Executive Officer of NTGI’s international businesses. “As the region gradually opens up to overseas investment against the backdrop of an ageing population and high pension liabilities, we believe that Northern Trust’s consultative and solutions-oriented approach puts us in a strong position to continue to add value for clients and grow our business.”