About Us

Nomura Asset Management Malaysia

Nomura Asset Management Malaysia obtained its fund management license in December 2006 from the Securities Commission Malaysia. The establishment of a local presence was part of our continued commitment to our clients in Malaysia, some of which, we have been servicing since 1990s from outside of Malaysia.

Nomura Asset Management Malaysia is a full-fledged asset manager with front-, middle- and back-office operations housed locally. We have grown from a 3-member team in 2006 to a combined staff strength of 48 (including Nomura Islamic Asset Management) as of 31 December 2022.

Our capabilities range from Domestic Equity, Domestic Fixed Income and Sukuk, Global Sukuk and Developed Markets Equities. Alongside Nomura Islamic Asset Management, we are signatories of the Malaysian Code for Institutional Investors. More of our efforts in Responsible Investing are published here.

As of 31 December 2022, the combined total assets under management of Nomura Asset Management in Malaysia stood at MYR 28.5 billion.

As of 31 December 2022, we have 11 funds with total AUM of MYR1.47 billion

Key Financial Highlights

Financial Year Ended MYR
Date 31.03.2023 31.03.2022 31.03.2021
Paid-up share capital 5,000,000 5,000,000 5,000,000
Shareholders’ funds 65,646,870 53,665,212 38,980,048
Revenue 59,937,569 59,287,418 50,290,351
Profit/Loss before taxation 21,411,219 22,162,435 12,573,974
Profit/Loss after taxation 16,981,658 17,685,164 10,096,158

Meet Our Key People

Leslie Yap

Managing Director / Country Head

Leslie Yap, CFA, is the Managing Director for Nomura Asset Management Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., and the Country Head for NAM’s business in Malaysia, since 1 November 2021. Prior to his appointment as Managing Director, he was the Head of Investments in Malaysia (a role he held since Apr 2015) where he oversees the global equities, Malaysian equities and Malaysian Fixed Income & Global Sukuk portfolio management teams in Kuala Lumpur.

Leslie has over 24 years of industry experience in funds management and research coverage. Together with the Global Equities team in Kuala Lumpur, he is responsible for the investment management of global developed market equities of over MYR 7 billion (Sept 2021), on behalf of Malaysia and overseas-based institutional investors.

Leslie is one of the contributing member of the Global Equity Strategy Committee and the Global Stock Selection Committee in Nomura Asset Management. He is also the Investment Committee member at Nomura Islamic Asset Management

Leslie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Nottingham, U.K. He is also a CFA charter holder.

 

 


Swee Fung Teoh

Head of Malaysian Equities

Swee Fung Teoh joined NAMM as portfolio manager in Nov 2006 and currently heads and oversees the Malaysian Equities portfolio management team, with over 25 years of experience in the financial services industry. Swee Fung is one of the contributing member of the Pacific Basin ex Japan Investment Strategy and Stock Selection committees.


Chooi Su May

Chief Administrative Officer

Chooi Su May is the Chief Administrative Officer of Nomura Asset Management Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. and oversees the Corporate Administration, Fund Administration and Trading departments. She joined the Company in 2008 and prior to assuming her current role, she was the Head of Compliance, Risk and Legal in the Company.

Su May has over 20 years of working experience in the areas of compliance, legal, operational risks, audit and tax from various local and international companies across audit & tax advisory, insurance and capital markets industries.


Eric Yeo

Head of Compliance, Risk and Legal

Eric is the Head of Compliance, Risk and Legal department at Nomura Asset Management Malaysia. He joined NAMM in 2015 and prior to that, Eric was Head of Trust and Agency Services, Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad and Compliance Officer at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (Malaysia) Berhad


Investment Committee

The Investment Committee members’ convene at least 4 times a year to review on investment offerings managed by Nomura Asset Management Malaysia. During the meetings, the members’ would review investment decisions undertaken on behalf of the funds’ managed by Nomura Asset Management Malaysia, evaluate on the investment performance of the funds’ against their respective investment objectives; as well as, deliberate on product development ideas.

Non-independent member

Hiew Teck Kong

Hiew heads the Malaysia Fixed Income & Global Sukuk team, with more than 23 years’ experience in the industry. Hiew Teck Kong is one of the contributing member of the Emerging Bond Investment Meetings in Nomura Asset Management and actively participated in marketing roadshows showcasing Nomura Islamic Asset Management and Global Sukuk capabilities locally and in the Middle Eastern region, amongst others.

Independent member

Johari bin Abdul Muid

Johari joined NAMM as an independent director in 2014. With over 30 years working experience in the financial industry, he started out his career as a money market dealer at CIMB Investment Bank before joining CIMB Securities to work in institutional sales. After 20 years with the CIMB Group, Mr Johari worked with several prominent financial firms in Malaysia. This includes ValueCap Sdn Bhd as Chief Investment Officer, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as Chief Investment Officer Equity and thereafter Deputy CEO, and RHB Bank Berhad as Managing Director. Mr Johari is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the United Kingdom.

Independent member

Julia Binti Hashim

Ms Julia joined the firm as an independent director on 27 August 2020 and brings with her over 30 years of working experience in the financial industry, since 1989. Ms Julia was previously at Principal Asset Management Berhad as the Chief Operating Officer, Asean region, overlooking operational divisions such as Finance, HR, Strategy, Legal, Risk, IT, Operations and Product Development across Principal Asset Management’s Southeast Asian entities. Before joining Principal Asset Management, Ms Julia was with CIMB Investment Bank Berhad for 23 years where her last position held was Head of Equities Malaysia and Head of Institutional Sales, ASEAN. Prior to that, Ms Julia was a fund manager at Arab Malaysia Investment Bank Berhad for 5 years. Ms Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Economics and Politics from University of London, School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS).


Board of Directors

Managing Director / Country Head

Leslie Yap

Leslie Yap, CFA, is the Managing Director for Nomura Asset Management Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., and the Country Head for NAM’s business in Malaysia, since 1 November 2021. Prior to his appointment as Managing Director, he was the Head of Investments in Malaysia (a role he held since Apr 2015) where he oversees the global equities, Malaysian equities and Malaysian Fixed Income & Global Sukuk portfolio management teams in Kuala Lumpur.

Leslie has over 24 years of industry experience in funds management and research coverage. Together with the Global Equities team in Kuala Lumpur, he is responsible for the investment management of global developed market equities of over MYR 7 billion (Sept 2021), on behalf of Malaysia and overseas-based institutional investors.

Leslie is one of the contributing member of the Global Equity Strategy Committee and the Global Stock Selection Committee in Nomura Asset Management. He is also the Investment Committee member at Nomura Islamic Asset Management.

Leslie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Nottingham, U.K. He is also a CFA charter holder.

Director

Atsushi Ichii

Atsushi Ichii was appointed as the Managing Director of Nomura Islamic Asset Management Sdn Bhd on 4 December 2020. He has over 25 years of experience in the financial and capital markets industry, from both the sell-side and buy-side. He began his career at Nomura Securities in 1991 and since then, he has undertaken various business development roles in Nomura Group and other Japanese financial institutions. Throughout his career, he has worked in various countries such as Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, and countries in the Middle East, such as Bahrain and U.A.E

Independent director

Johari bin Abdul Muid

Johari joined NAMM as an independent director in 2014. With over 30 years working experience in the financial industry, he started out his career as a money market dealer at CIMB Investment Bank before joining CIMB Securities to work in institutional sales. After 20 years with the CIMB Group, Mr Johari worked with several prominent financial firms in Malaysia. This includes ValueCap Sdn Bhd as Chief Investment Officer, the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as Chief Investment Officer Equity and thereafter Deputy CEO, and RHB Bank Berhad as Managing Director. Mr Johari is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants in the United Kingdom.

Independent director

Julia Binti Hashim

Ms Julia joined the firm as an independent director on 27 August 2020 and brings with her over 30 years of working experience in the financial industry, since 1989. Ms Julia was previously at Principal Asset Management Berhad as the Chief Operating Officer, Asean region, overlooking operational divisions such as Finance, HR, Strategy, Legal, Risk, IT, Operations and Product Development across Principal Asset Management’s Southeast Asian entities. Before joining Principal Asset Management, Ms Julia was with CIMB Investment Bank Berhad for 23 years where her last position held was Head of Equities Malaysia and Head of Institutional Sales, ASEAN. Prior to that, Ms Julia was a fund manager at Arab Malaysia Investment Bank Berhad for 5 years. Ms Julia holds a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) Economics and Politics from University of London, School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS).

Chief Administrative Officer / Director

Chooi Su May

Chooi Su May is the Chief Administrative Officer of Nomura Asset Management Malaysia Sdn. Bhd. and oversees the Corporate Administration, Fund Administration and Trading departments. She joined the Company in 2008 and prior to assuming her current role, she was the Head of Compliance, Risk and Legal in the Company. She was appointed as director in June 2022.

Su May has over 20 years of working experience in the areas of compliance, legal, operational risks, audit and tax from various local and international companies across audit & tax advisory, insurance and capital markets industries.

Director

Tomoya Kawagishi

Tomoya Kawagishi has served as Head of the Global Business Strategy Department since April 2023, following a tenure of overseeing the company’s overseas business as both Senior Business Development Manager and General Manager. Since joining Nomura Asset Management in 2008, he has also served as a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Investment Department and Senior Manager of Product Planning and Development. Kawagishi has over two decades of experience in the finance industry. Prior to joining NAM, he was a portfolio manager at Resona Bank, and he also has experience in sales management at AXA Life Insurance.

He holds a B.A. in Business Administration from Meiji University and is a Chartered Member (CMA) of the Securities Analysts Association of Japan. 

Career

The successful candidate will be supporting the Fixed Income investment team, whose primary responsibility includes research and investment management to institutional and corporate clients. The incumbent will be physically positioned in the Malaysian office with a direct reporting line to the Portfolio Manager.

The candidate will be given the opportunity to build a career in investment management through exposure across different departments within the company over a period of time. At the same time, the candidate will also be supporting portfolio managers in the following tasks:

  • maintaining information database relating to investment/research
  • preparing presentation and reporting materials for internal and external use
  • monitoring market developments
  • research on investment ideas
  • undertaking required responsibilities and providing the necessary support

 

Requirements:

  1. Degree in Economics/Finance/Banking/Commerce or equivalent; Other degrees may be considered
  2. Proficient in Microsoft Powerpoint, Excel, Word etc.
  3. Mathematically inclined
  4. Strong interpersonal skills, friendly and trustworthy, with a high level of integrity and work ethics
  5. Ability to learn, retain and apply considerable amounts of information
  6. Ability to complete simultaneous tasks while under significant time pressure
  7. Well-organized, disciplined, impeccable attention to detail
  8. A team player

Description:

  • Plan and execute sales and marketing strategies
  • Generate and achieve sales target from existing and new funds
  • Provide on-going training and enhance skills and knowledge of company products and manage relationship with product distributors (IUTAs)
  • Ensure information to IUTAs is consistently updated and relevant information is disseminated to the staffs
  • Attend to distributors enquiries and requests. Where necessary, able to work closely with other internal stakeholders (e.g. investment professionals) to address and/or make recommendations to resolve clients’ queries
  • Build rapport with distributors and involve in client servicing and retention management with other team members
  • Conduct and provide market research feedback on unit trust investment.
  • Involve in ad-hoc projects from time to time.

Requirements:

  • Degree in related field
  • Working experience in the area of Unit Trust or related financial products would have an added advantage.
  • Self-driven, independent, results-oriented
  • Possess effective organizational, presentation, spoken and written skills.

Description:

  • Responsible in the preparation and finalisation of product/fund documentation including Prospectus / Information Memorandum, Product Highlight Sheet for the Company’s new / existing funds.
  • Main point of contact on behalf of the Company with external parties engaged by the Company including counsels for the drafting and preparation of fund-related documentation; Securities Commission on the submission of new/supplementary fund Prospectus/ Information Memorandum, trustees and other relevant counterparties
  • Assist the Business Development team in new product development including identifying potential product gaps and the Company’s unique proposition. The findings of the former will be utilised by the Business Development team in their submission to Product Development Committee (NAM Tokyo) for approval of new funds and strategies.
  • Product narratives on Company’s funds and strategy capabilities for the Business Development team’s utilisation in its marketing collaterals and sales pitch books
  • Perform fund analysis on Company’s funds’ against peer funds’ in their respective asset group categories using Lipper Investment Management
  • Product briefing and presentations to the Company’s distribution partners, clients and prospective investors
  • Preparation of Company’s funds’ reporting such as monthly fact sheets, interim and annual Manager’s reports. Where necessary, to coordinate with internal departments (Fund Administration, Business Support and Compliance and Investment departments) in the finalisation of these reports.
  • Attend to ad-hoc enquiries on Company’ fund / strategies from prospective and existing investors
  • Any other duties or responsibilities assign from or agreed with the head of department /management from time to time

 

Requirement:

  • Degree in related field
  • 3-5 years working experience
  • Working experience in the area of fund management / Unit Trust or related financial products would have an added advantage.
  • Self-driven, independent, results-oriented
  • Possess effective organizational, presentation, spoken and written skills.

The candidate will be responsible for the day-to-day functions by ensuring timely preparation of reports and processing of trades and dividends/ coupons as well as corporate actions. Experience working in the operations of an asset management company would be highly desirable.

 

Responsibilities:

  • Ensure accurate and timely processing of equity, fixed income and money market trades and follow up on issues.
  • Monitor and maintain corporate action events relating to all markets and ensure timely response to custodians.
  • Daily monitoring of cash movements as well as ensuring that all cash movements are captured in the system and work closely with custodians, fund administrators to research, and resolve reconciliation breaks immediately.
  • Responsible for the preparation and reconciliation of the total asset value of the portfolio/ fund.
  • Preparation of the necessary reports as required by the clients, portfolio managers and other relevant parties on a periodic basis.
  • Ensure fund valuation and reporting are completed within stated deadlines.
  • Willing to participate actively in every level of service required by the clients and any ad-hoc project as assigned.

 

Requirements:

  • Degree holder with a minimum of 3 years of experience in back-office operations in the unit trust or asset management industry.
  • Exposure and knowledge of different financial markets, instruments, settlement and reporting processes would be an added advantage.
  • Possess excellent PC skills (especially Microsoft Excel and VBA), knowledge of CTM and/ or Swift would be an added advantage.
  • Must be meticulous and accurate with good attention to details.
  • Able to work independently, under tight deadline with minimum supervision as well as in a team environment.
  • Excellent time management, organizational and prioritization skills plus good communication skills, both verbal and written.