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

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).

Independent member

Dato’ Mona Suraya binti Kamaruddin

Dato’ Mona joined the firm as an independent director on 1 November 2023 and brings with her 31 years of experience in the capital markets, specialising in Malaysian equities, which includes close to 9 years in Equity Research and 20 years in Equity Sales. Dato’ Mona is currently the Investment Panel Member at Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera and prior to that she was the Chief Executive Officer at Affin Hwang Investment Bank Berhad. Prior to joining Affin Hwang Investment Bank Berhad, Dato’ Mona was the Country Head and Managing Director at Nomura Securities Malaysia. Dato’ Mona and her team at Nomura were instrumental in establishing and growing the firm’s Malaysian equities franchise from the ground up over the past 11 years. Before joining Nomura, she was Vice President of Institutional Sales at JPMorgan Securities Malaysia. Dato’ Mona began her career in the capital markets in 1991 as an investment analyst in various financial institutions which include Arab Malaysian Securities, Standard Chartered Securities Malaysia and Crosby Securities Malaysia. She also served as Head of Research at MGI Securities Malaysia. Dato’ Mona holds a BSc (Econs) in Accounting from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth


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

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).

Independent member

Dato’ Mona Suraya binti Kamaruddin

Dato’ Mona joined the firm as an independent director on 1 November 2023 and brings with her 31 years of experience in the capital markets, specialising in Malaysian equities, which includes close to 9 years in Equity Research and 20 years in Equity Sales. Dato’ Mona is currently the Investment Panel Member at Lembaga Tabung Angkatan Tentera and prior to that she was the Chief Executive Officer at Affin Hwang Investment Bank Berhad. Prior to joining Affin Hwang Investment Bank Berhad, Dato’ Mona was the Country Head and Managing Director at Nomura Securities Malaysia. Dato’ Mona and her team at Nomura were instrumental in establishing and growing the firm’s Malaysian equities franchise from the ground up over the past 11 years. Before joining Nomura, she was Vice President of Institutional Sales at JPMorgan Securities Malaysia. Dato’ Mona began her career in the capital markets in 1991 as an investment analyst in various financial institutions which include Arab Malaysian Securities, Standard Chartered Securities Malaysia and Crosby Securities Malaysia. She also served as Head of Research at MGI Securities Malaysia. Dato’ Mona holds a BSc (Econs) in Accounting from the University College of Wales, Aberystwyth

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

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.

Email your application to: [email protected]

Responsibilities:

  • Monitor and ensure timely processing of trade matching and settlement instructions for both local and global markets in Equities, Fixed Income and other financial products and follow up on unmatched or failed trades.
  • Ensure income collections and corporate actions events are performing timely and accurately and ensure all corporate action events’ responses to custodian are within timeline.
  • Reconcile daily cash and investment holdings.
  • Monitor daily cash movements as well as ensuring that all movements are captured in the system; and work closely with custodians and fund administrators to resolve reconciliation breaks.
  • Ensure that all processing records are filed or saved in an organized manner to facilitate easy retrieval when necessary.
  • Plan, manage and control all aspects of team operations.
  • Be willing to participate actively in every level of service as required by the clients and any ad hoc task or project assigned, i.e. preparation of the reports on daily, weekly, monthly and/or ad-hoc basis as required by the clients, management and others.

Requirements:

  • Bachelor degree in a relevant discipline with minimum of five (5) or more years of experiences in back-office operations in the asset management or financial institution industry is required.
  • Exposure and knowledge to different financial markets, instruments and settlement processes would be highly desirable.
  • Experience in preparation of portfolio valuation and report would be an added advantage.
  • Must be meticulous and accurate with good attention to detail.
  • Able to work independently under the tight deadline with minimum supervision as well as in a team environment.
  • A team player with good interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.
  • Possess excellent technical skills i.e. Excel and/or VBA, knowledge of DTCC – Central Trade Manager, Swift and/or project management and direct experience with fund accounting and reporting would be an added advantage.