Our Company

Before joining Nikko Asset Management, Junichi Sayato most recently served as Representative Director and President of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust General Service Co., Ltd. He previously held the position of President at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Research Institute Co., Ltd., and also oversaw IR at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings, Inc. as Director and Managing Executive Officer. At the former Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co., Ltd. (now Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Ltd.), he oversaw finance, ALM, operations, IT, compliance, and CS as Director and Managing Executive Officer. Before that, he served as Executive Officer and Regional Executive for the Americas at the same bank, as well as General Manager of the New York Branch and General Manager of the Risk Management Department.

He has over 13 years of extensive experience in working outside of Japan, namely in London, New York and Washington D.C.

He graduated from the School of Law at Kyoto University in March 1978 and received his Master's degree from the London School of Economics (Department of Economics, International Relations Major) in August 1982.

Mr. Abe was most recently at Mizuho Securities Co., Ltd., where he served as director and deputy president for five years from 2008 to 2013. Prior to Mizuho Securities, he was a board member and CEO at Nikko Citigroup for four years.

During the course of his career at Nikko Cordial Securities and its forerunner company, Nikko Securities (now SMBC Nikko Securities), he held various important offices such as senior managing director for Nikko Cordial Securities, as well as being a board member and executive officer for Nikko Cordial Group. In these roles, he was a leader in business and product planning, marketing, fixed income trading and capital markets. Mr. Abe is a veteran financier who has been in the industry since 1977. From 1987 to 1995, he was assigned to the London-based Nikko Europe.

He is a graduate of Keio University’s School of Literature.

Ooyagi originally became Head of the Corporate Business Development Department in 2002, during which time he expanded Nikko Asset Management’s offering of products for financial institutions. He became the Head of Investment Trust Sales in 2010, where he held several important posts in support of the investment trust business. Ooyagi became Head of the Japan Retail Business Division and a Senior Corporate Managing Director in April 2014.

Ooyagi started at Nikko Securities (currently SMBC Nikko Securities) in 1985 before becoming a portfolio manager in 1992 at Nikko Securities Investment Trust and Management (currently Nikko Asset Management).

He graduated from Waseda University in March 1985.

Tsujimura joined Nikko Asset Management in December 2004 as the firm's Global Head of Alternative Investments and Chief Investment Officer at its New York subsidiary. After relocating to Nikko Asset Management’s Tokyo headquarters in August 2010, Tsujimura served as Head of Active Investments, where he was in charge of equity, fixed income and alternative investments. He was appointed Chief Investment Officer – Japan in January 2013 and was also named Senior Corporate Managing Director in April 2014. He was named Executive Vice President in May 2019.

Before joining the firm, Tsujimura spent 12 years in the investment and financial industry in the U.S., where he worked in alternative investments serving as Director and Executive Vice President at Nikko Securities International (NSI). He also started NSI’s proprietary trading operation in his role as the head of the equity trading department. At Nikko Securities (now SMBC Nikko Securities) in Japan, Tsujimura established a joint venture with an American securities firm, where he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer.

He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Business and Commerce at Keio University.

Morita joined Nikko Asset Management as Senior Corporate Managing Director, Chief Legal Officer (CLO), Global Head of Legal and Head of Legal & Compliance Division in April 2016. From October 2016 he concurrently served as Chief Compliance Officer (CCO)

Before joining Nikko Asset Management, Morita most recently served as Senior Managing Director of Nikko System Solutions Inc., and prior to that Managing Executive Officer of SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. He previously was President of Nikko Global Wrap Co., Ltd. while serving as Managing Executive Officer of SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in April 2011. At the former Nikko Cordial Securities (renamed as SMBC Nikko Securities Co., Ltd. in April 2011), Morita oversaw asset management for more than six years from 2008. Before that, he served as Executive Director and Executive Officer of Nikko Cordial Group, Inc. and Nikko Cordial Securities Co., Ltd., with a focus on supervising the finance and personnel & training department. He has over 20 years of extensive experience in the area of legal, corporate planning, human resources and talent development.

He graduated from the University of Tokyo Graduate School of Law and Political Science and received a Masters in Law.

Asai joined Nikko Asset Management as Head of Risk Management in August 2006. He served as Head of Product Development for seven years from 2007 onwards, and was appointed Global Head of Corporate Office and Head of Corporate Office in 2014.

A veteran financier with more than 20 years of experience in the financial industry, Asai has a strong background in risk management. Prior to joining Nikko Asset Management, he worked for the major trading house Mitsui & Co, Ltd. between 2001 and 2006, engaged in planning and managing the product derivatives business globally. He also spent more than a decade working at both Sanwa Securities and Sanwa Bank, serving in the overseas dealing business.

Asai holds a Master of Science in computational finance from the Carnegie Mellon University Graduate School of Industrial Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in engineering from the University of Tokyo.

Drews joined Nikko Asset Management in August 2014, and was originally appointed Global Head of Institutional Marketing and Proposition. She became Joint Global Head of Product & Marketing in 2016 at the firm’s Tokyo headquarters, and from 2018 also became Global Head of Marketing and Head of Corporate Sustainability. She has held the position of Senior Corporate Managing Director, and the additional positions of Global Head of Products & Solutions, Global Head of International Sales & Strategy and Global Head of Sales Support since May 2019.

Drews was previously the Global Head of Key Clients and Family Offices at Barclays Wealth and Investment Management in London. Prior to Barclays, she was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management in London, where she spent 13 years.

Drews graduated from Oxford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics, Philosophy & Economics, and earned her MBA at Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration.

Nakada joined Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd. in October 2009. She became the Head of Operations Planning and Administration Department in August 2010, and was then named Head of Japan Operations and Disclosure Division in June 2015. In February 2017, Nakada was promoted to Global Head of IT and Global Head of Operations.

Prior to joining Nikko Asset Management Co., Ltd, Nakada started her career in Human Resources and Training at NikkoCiti Trust and Banking Corporation and was responsible for Operations in the fiduciary business since 1998. In 2007, she became Nikko Citi Trust and Banking Corporation’s Head of Client Service Department, maintaining the relationship with asset management firms globally. Nakada has more than 20 years of experience in the operations and management of fiduciary business.

She is a graduate of Tamagawa University.