Hideo Abe

Independent Australian fund manager Yarra Capital Management (Yarra) and global funds management group Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd (Nikko AM) have announced that they have entered into a binding agreement through which Yarra will acquire Nikko AM’s Australian business.

Under the terms of the agreement, Yarra will assume ownership of Nikko AM’s Australian subsidiary, Nikko AM Limited, and its associated entities. The combination will create one of Australia’s largest independently owned Australian equities and fixed income fund managers.

The transaction, which remains subject to certain regulatory approvals, is expected to close in April 2021. Following completion:

• Nikko AM’s Australian equities business, comprising an 11-person investment team that has worked together for more than 15 years, will be rebranded which will see a return of the Tyndall brand. The Tyndall franchise will be led by Brad Potter (Nikko AM’s Head of Australian Equities) and will remain separate to Yarra’s style-neutral Australian equities business, with no crossover in investment management activity and no change to its value investment philosophy, process or team;
• Nikko AM’s Australian fixed income business, a highly regarded franchise with 15 years’ experience managing assets for a diverse range of local and offshore clients, will be combined with Yarra’s growing fixed income operations. The new business, which will benefit from a significantly broadened capability, will be jointly led by Roy Keenan (Yarra’s Head of Australian Fixed Income) and Darren Langer (Nikko AM’s Head of Australian Fixed Income), as Co-Heads of Australian Fixed Income;
• Dion Hershan, currently Yarra’s Managing Director and Head of Australian Equities, will become Executive Chair and Head of Equities (Yarra). In his new role, he will devolve all day-to-day management responsibilities. A search for a new Managing Director to lead the combined business has commenced, with an appointment expected to be confirmed in the coming months. Until then, Garvin Louie will serve as Interim Managing Director. Garvin is Yarra’s General Counsel and currently leads the Firm’s Business Operations function;
• Nikko AM will become a 20% shareholder in the enlarged group and will appoint one director to its Board, while Michael Gordon (Non-Executive Director, Yarra) will join Tyndall’s Board as Chairman;
• All existing Australian clients of Nikko AM Limited are assured of a seamless transition to the new organisation;
• The partnership will benefit from an enhanced product suite, with Nikko AM’s global business gaining access to Yarra’s Australian equity and fixed income products, and Yarra assuming responsibility for the distribution of Nikko AM’s global suite of products in the Australian market.

Commenting on behalf of Yarra, Dion Hershan said: “The combination of these two outstanding franchises will create one of Australia’s largest independent fund managers, with approximately $20 billion of assets under management. The transaction will enable us to continue strengthening our partnerships with clients and will provide the additional scale to support greater investment in talent, technology and operational excellence.

Yarra was attracted to the quality of the people within Nikko AM’s Australian business and we are delighted to welcome them into the Yarra team. We are also extremely pleased to bring Nikko AM on board as a strategic investor alongside TA Associates. This partnership will help us expand the global reach of our investment strategies, in particular in Japan where we have achieved significant growth in recent years.”

Commenting on behalf of Nikko AM, Nikko AM President and Co-CEO, Hideo Abe, remarked: “This partnership takes our commitment in Australia to the next stage. We are confident that our investment in Yarra will be the catalyst to enhance the capabilities that Australian investors are looking for, while sales, distribution and back and middle office functions will complement each other and thus continue to provide quality service to our clients. We are also excited to be able to expand our Australian equity and fixed income product offering to Japanese and global investors in this new capacity.”

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Asia Asset Management, The Journal of Investments and Pensions, has acknowledged Nikko AM in Japan as Best Institutional House, for the third year running, and for the first time ever, Singapore ETF Manager of the Year. This is the sixth consecutive year for Nikko AM to be honored by Asia Asset Management.

Through a turbulent 2018, the Firm’s agility allowed it to outrun the domestic competition for institutional Japanese assets. The Firm has seen overall growth of 48% in AUM since March 2016 – and Nikko AM’s Japan institutional AUM has grown from JPY 3.5 trillion in March 2016 to JPY 5.7 trillion in October 2018 – an increase of over 63%.

At the same time, the Firm’s exchange traded fund (ETF) business in Singapore has grown assets under management to SGD1.395 billion as of October 2018. This is an increase of almost 30 percent from December 2017, and places the firm as one of the largest ETF issuers on the Singapore Exchange. In the last two years, the firm launched two new ETFs expanding its suite of ETFs from two to four. Nikko AM is firmly committed to the development of ETFs in Singapore and broader Asia.

Nikko AM Director, Executive Vice Chairman Hideo Abe said, “We are laser-focused on delivering solutions to Japanese institutions seeking opportunities outside of Japan, and also for the needs of Singaporean clients in their home market, as seen with the Singapore ETF Manager of Year award. Performance is at the core of what we do, and we are grateful to Asia Asset Management for these accolades.”

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Hideo Abe

Nikko Asset Management (Nikko AM) has been recognised across three categories in Asia Asset Management’s 2018 Best of the Best Awards. Asia Asset Management, The Journal of Investments and Pensions, has acknowledged Nikko AM in Japan as Best Institutional House and ETF Manager of the Year, both for the second year running, and for the first time as Asia Region ETF Manager of the Year.

This is the fifth consecutive year for Nikko AM to be honored by Asia Asset Management.

Through a turbulent 2017, the Firm’s agility allowed it to outrun the domestic competition for institutional Japanese assets. Driving the growth is institutional investor interest in the Firm’s tailored solutions that help balance portfolio risk – especially Multi-Asset, on which both mega banks and regional banks increasingly rely as a diversifier from foreign bonds.

Nikko AM’s institutional business in Japan has led all Japan-based peers for inflows into privately placed investment trusts in 2017, with institutional AUM growing over 70% from March 2015 through September 2017.

At the same time, Nikko AM’s exchange traded fund (ETF) business has grown assets under management by over 50% year-over-year to December 2017, spread across nearly 30 ETF products. The Firm continued to provide investment education and a series of new ETF products, including the world’s first Asia ex Japan REIT ETF* in both Tokyo and Singapore, in addition to a Japan Equity Long-Short Strategy ETF. In 2017 Nikko AM was the second largest ETF provider in the Asia-Pacific region, with a total market share of 12.5%, while ranking among the top ten globally.

Nikko AM Director, Executive Vice Chairman Hideo Abe said, “Nikko AM’s established global network and focus on progressive solutions is clearly providing the results its clients seek. This is so both for Japanese institutions seeking opportunities outside of Japan, and also for the needs of local clients in their home market, as seen with recognition as Asia Region ETF Manager of the Year. Performance is at the core of what we do, and we are grateful to Asia Asset Management for these accolades.”

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Nikko Asset Management is a related entity of Tyndall Investment Management Limited. Drews was most recently Global Head of Key Clients and Family Offices at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management in London. She will be relocating to Tokyo later in 2014 to assume her new role.

“We feel very fortunate to have Stefanie join Nikko Asset Management as we take our institutional business to the next level,” said Hideo Abe, Executive Vice Chairman of Nikko Asset Management. “She has had a distinguished career in the investment and wealth management industry and we are very confident that her contributions will greatly improve the customer experience for institutional clients.”

Drews will be responsible for developing and managing the institutional proposition working closely with the firm’s investment, operational and distribution teams globally. She will manage institutional product, marketing and cross border specialist groups in Nikko Asset Management’s locations around the world. Her role was created in line with the firm’s strategy of increasing its business in the institutional arena.

Prior to Barclays, Drews was a Managing Director in Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management business, where she ran a highly successful investment management program for institutional clients as well as high-net-worth individuals. She is a graduate of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration and received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Oxford University.

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