UBS Accelerates Hiring in Japan as Rising Rates Reshape Investment Flows

According to Jin10, UBS Group has hired three former Nomura Holdings employees in Japan to strengthen cross-asset sales to local institutional investors, the latest move in the bank's expansion in the country. According to people familiar with the matter, Takashi Kigami and Yuta Kitagawa joined the Swiss bank's securities division in Tokyo this month, while Masahiro Kubo joined about a month earlier. As rising domestic interest rates in Japan change the relative appeal of domestic and overseas assets, Japanese institutional investors are rebalancing their portfolios. Sales staff with close ties to these investors have become targets for banks and global asset managers such as Apollo and Blue Owl. Since former Goldman Sachs partner Shinichi Yokote took charge of the securities division last year, UBS has accelerated hiring in Tokyo, and at least five other former Goldman Sachs employees have joined this year in roles including head of debt underwriting and co-head of foreign exchange sales.