Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Co., a Tokyo-based manager with $626 billion in assets under management, opened its first office in the Americas in midtown Manhattan.
Shigeki Katoh was appointed president and CEO of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management Americas Inc., according to a news release. He will report to Yoshio Hishida, representative director and president of Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management.
The news release said the firm's New York office, which opened Wednesday, will provide access to "return streams within Japan's markets not typically captured by U.S. investors, such as the Japanese microcap market."
The news release said Sumitomo will leverage its fundamental research, ESG and stewardship capabilities.
In addition to offering Japanese market opportunities to U.S. investors, the New York office will conduct research on external products for Japanese investors.
In the news release, Mr. Hishida called the move a "big step towards achieving our goal to strengthen" the firm's global presence, even if building a business in the competitive U.S. market takes time.