Manabu Kawamura joined TCW Group's newly opened office in Tokyo as director of institutional sales, Japan, said spokesman Douglas Morris.
Mr. Kawamura had been a director and head of the financial institution business at BlackRock Japan, selling and marketing BlackRock investment strategies to Japanese institutional investors, a TCW news release said.
A BlackRock spokeswoman said in an e-mail that Mr. Kawamura's position has been filled but declined to provide further details.
Also joining the Tokyo office — TCW's sixth office overall and second in Asia after Hong Kong — are Hakusei Ko, senior vice president of product development, and Tomohisa Yamaguchi, senior vice president of retail sales.
Mr. Ko comes to TCW from BNP Paribas Investment Partners in Tokyo, where he was a member of the product management team. A BNP Paribas Investment Partners spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Mr. Yamaguchi previously worked at UBS Asset Management as a director on that firm's retail marketing team. A UBS spokesman couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
Stanislas L. Debreu, executive vice president and head of international marketing, said in the release TCW's “income-oriented investment products” have had Japanese clients for more than 20 years, and the new Tokyo office marks a “significant step” in TCW's effort to “further grow our business in Japan.”
Data provider eVestment showed TCW managing nine accounts with combined assets of $416.9 million on behalf of clients in Japan as of June 30, out of total assets of $178.7 billion.
