NOMURA ASSET MANAGEMENT U. - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Portfolio Manager With NCRAM
Amy Yu Chang, CFA, is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager with NCRAM. She manages NCRAM's higher credit quality accounts, including the BB-B High Yield Strategy, and also assists in managing accounts in the full spectrum High Yield Total Return Strategy. She has been a high yield bond Portfolio Manager since 2007. Prior to that, she was an Assistant Portfolio Manager of various long-only high yield accounts at NCRAM since 2004, and an analyst in the high yield group at NCRAM for various industries including Retail, Apparel, Food, Restaurants, Technology, and Business Services since 1999. Ms. Yu Chang received her B.S. in Biology from Yale University in 1999. She is a CFA® charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Brett Collins, CFA is an Executive Director and Client Portfolio Manager at NCRAM. He rejoined the firm in July 2021 and covers US, European, and Global High Yield, and Emerging Market Debt and Multi-Credit strategies. Prior to this role, Brett held a variety of positions at State Street Global Advisors, including Quantitative Equity Client Portfolio Manager and Chief Operating Officer of the firm's Investment Solutions Group. Brett also worked at NCRAM from 1996 to 2004 as an Analyst with the firm's Emerging Market Debt team. He holds an MBA in Finance and International Business from Columbia Business School and a B.S. in Finance/Investments from Babson College. He is a CFA® charterholder and a member of the CFA Institute.
David Crall, CFA, is the President, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Chief Investment Officer (CIO), and a Managing Director with NCRAM. He is also a member of NCRAM's Board of Directors. Mr. Crall became President and CEO of NCRAM in June 2019, and in this capacity he is responsible for the firm's overall management and business strategy. In addition, as CIO since January 2010, he leads the investment activities and investment team of NCRAM. He is the Chair of NCRAM's Management Oversight, Investment, New Product, Risk Monitoring, and ESG Committees. Previously, he was a portfolio manager and co-head of the high yield bond team at NCRAM, encompassing primarily high yield bonds but also public-side management of loans and distressed investments, since 2000. Prior to that, he was a portfolio manager of various high yield accounts at NCRAM since 1997, and an analyst in the high yield group at NCRAM for various industries since 1992. Mr. Crall received his B.A. from Yale University in 1992. He is a CFA® charterholder, a member of the CFA institute, and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director and Portfolio Manager With NCRAM
Derek Leung, CFA, is an Executive Director and Portfolio Manager with NCRAM. He has been with NCRAM since July 2003 and has acted as the Portfolio Manager for a selection of NCRAM's High Yield Total Return portfolios since 2019. He has also served as Assistant Portfolio Manager for various high yield long-only portfolios, supporting Stephen Kotsen and Amy Yu Chang, since 2010. Prior to becoming a Portfolio Manager, Mr. Leung was a credit analyst with the high yield group at NCRAM. He has covered numerous industries including Industrials and Services, Aerospace and Defense, Utilities, Technology, Shipping, Airlines and Aircraft Lessors, Paper and Packaging, and also acts as the firm's distressed credit and special situations analyst. Mr. Leung received his B.A. in Economics from Yale University in May 2003. He is a CFA® charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Head of Risk
Dr. Eugene Shuster, Managing Director and Head of Risk, joined Nomura in December 2012. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Head of Quantitative Analytics within the Market Risk Management Group at PNC, where his team was responsible for providing a centralized solution center for all quantitative modeling efforts, research, development, documentation, and implementation across all the asset classes, products, and books that Market Risk Management oversees. Prior to PNC, Eugene spent five years with Deutsche Bank as a Fixed Income Portfolio Manager leading a small team which invested in a large spectrum of fixed income assets using both quantitative and non-systematic strategies (i.e., black box semi-automated Treasury bonds book, new issue Agency and Corporate bonds book, bullet and callable relative value strategy). Prior to Deutsche Bank, he spent three years as a Fixed Income Quantitative Analyst at Putnam Investments creating predictive, pricing and risk, term structure and default, and portfolio construction models for asset classes ranging from Treasury and Agency bonds, to investment grade and high yield bonds, to structured securities such as MBS, ABS, and CMBS. Dr. Shuster earned his Bachelor of Science degrees in Physics and Theoretical Mathematics and his Ph.D. degree in Theoretical Physics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Portfolio Manager
Eric Torres, is an Executive Director and Portfolio Manager for Emerging Markets (EM) at NCRAM. Mr. Torres is responsible for the management of EM hard currency sovereign credit bonds and assumed the lead portfolio manager role for EM corporate sleeves for global high-yield products managed by NCRAM in September 2016. Before joining NCRAM in 2008, Mr. Torres was research strategist in the Latin America Research Team at JP Morgan in New York, where he worked since 2000 covering different roles within the Emerging Markets Research Team. Prior to joining JP Morgan, Mr. Torres was an economist covering his home country at Chase Manhattan Bank Mexico (from 1998 to 2000) and Banco Santander's economic consulting unit (from 1996 to 1998) based in Mexico City. Eric earned a B.A. in Economics from the National University of Mexico (UNAM) and his MBA in Finance at Fordham University in New York.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director, Client Portfolio Manager
Heather Grantham is an Executive Director, Client Portfolio Manager, ESG Specialist, and the Head of Client Relations at NCRAM, where she manages institutional client relationships and works closely with portfolio management, credit research, sales and business development teams to create and market high-yield fixed-income investment products for investors globally. She also serves on NCRAM's ESG Committee and has a leadership role in defining and framing NCRAM's responsible investing practices, ESG integration and ESG-focused products to clients, prospects, internal stakeholders and global Nomura affiliates. Ms. Grantham joined NCRAM's Product Development team in 2012, prior to which her background was in financial services communications, branding, investor relations and business development support. She earned a B.A. in Government, with additional studies in Sociology and Fine Arts, from Cornell University.
Job Titles:
- Executive Director and Portfolio Manager With NCRAM
Hideo Kajiwara is an Executive Director and Portfolio Manager with NCRAM since 2020. He has more than 20 years of experience in managing global credit and securitized credit products. Prior to joining NCRAM, he was the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and Senior Portfolio Manager at Nomura Global Alpha LLC (NGA), responsible for managing a global macro hedge fund strategy with a focus on global credit and securitized credit products for more than 11 years. Before NGA, he was a Portfolio Manager at Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. in Tokyo, where managed a broad range of credit and securitized products from 1997 through 2008, and he was the lead manager of a large short-duration strategy. Mr. Kajiwara holds a B.A. in international business from Sophia University.
Jennie Wong, CPA, is a Managing Director, the Chief Administrative Officer (CAO), and Head of Operations of NCRAM. She is the Chair of NCRAM's Counterparty Review, Performance Reporting Oversight, and Pricing committees. She joined NCRAM in August 1993 and is responsible for the firms' operations functions. Prior to this position, she was a senior auditor in public accounting with McGladrey & Pullen. Ms. Wong is a Certified Public Accountant and received her B.B.A. in Public Accounting from Pace University in 1989.
Utilizing his prior experience as an analyst, Mr. Ito, has been managing the Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund, Inc. along with Mr. Daimon since July 2013. He began to manage funds consisting of Japanese Equities at Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. (NAM-Tokyo) in 2008, previous to that he had experience researching Asian equities and working as a financial sector analyst, and was appointed as a Senior Portfolio Manager in 2015. Prior to joining NAM-Tokyo, Mr. Ito worked at Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management. Mr. Ito obtained an MSc Science degree from Tokyo University.
Job Titles:
- Vice President and Head of Investment Management Legal of NCRAM
Melanie Hawthorne is a Vice President and Head of Investment Management Legal of NCRAM and NHA, where she focuses on the US-based asset managers within the Nomura Group of companies. Ms. Hawthorne joined Nomura in 2021. She has over 15 years of legal experience spanning multiple industries. She has worked in legal as well as compliance roles in the financial industry, having held dual roles at CIFC Asset Management, registered investment adviser Silver Point Capital, and the Royal Bank of Scotland. She also has extensive experience consulting with advisory firms, working on high-profile cases for mortgage-backed securities litigation. Most recently, Ms. Hawthorne served as In-House Counsel and Compliance Officer for an insurance technology company in Connecticut. Ms. Hawthorne holds a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Western Connecticut State University and earned her J.D. degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2004.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Head of Emerging Market Corporate Bond Portfolio Management at NCRAM
Meno Stroemer is a Managing Director and Head of Emerging Market Corporate Bond Portfolio Management at NCRAM. Previously, he headed the Portfolio Management team and was lead portfolio manager of emerging market strategies at Fisch Asset Management from 2014-2022. Prior to that, he worked for Morgan Stanley in New York where he initially built up the emerging markets corporate trading desk. He later transferred to Morgan Stanley's Global Capital Markets group to head up the emerging markets debt syndicate function globally. Before joining Morgan Stanley, Meno worked at UBS for 14 years, initially in London as credit research analyst. He subsequently transferred to New York and transitioned into a trading role covering emerging markets (Asia, EMEA and Latin America), and ultimately became the head of UBS' Latin American credit trading desk. Earlier in his career, he worked as Eurobond desk analyst for HSBC in London and spent nearly three years at Moody's Investor Service in New York in the position of research analyst. He holds a BA in Economics from Hamilton College in Clinton, New York, and an MBA from the American Graduate School of International Management in Glendale, Arizona.
Job Titles:
- Head of the Japan Small Cap
- Lead Portfolio Manager
Mr. Atsushi Katayama is Head of the Japan Small Cap team in Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. ("NAM Tokyo") and took over the position of lead Portfolio Manager of the Japan Smaller Capitalization Fund, Inc. effective April 1, 2023. Mr. Katayama started his equity investment career in 2006 at NAM Tokyo, where he provided fundamental research on Japanese small to mid-cap stocks. In 2008, Mr. Katayama joined TPG-Axon as an equity analyst covering Retail, Capital Goods, Financials and Internet sectors. Since 2014, Mr. Katayama has worked as a portfolio manager at Point 72 Asia and Dymon Asia Capital before returning to NAM Tokyo in 2021 as a Senior Portfolio Manager. Mr. Katayama earned his MS from Kyoto University in 2001 and his MBA from The University of Chicago in 2006.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer ( CCO ) of Nomura Asset Management U.S.a. Inc
Mr. Daniele is a Managing Director and Chief Compliance Officer (CCO) of Nomura Asset Management U.S.A. Inc. and also serves as CCO of Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management Inc. Mr. Daniele joined Nomura in 2002. His career in asset management began in 1983. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Daniele was Vice President and Compliance Officer of Munich Re Capital Management Corp. Prior to that position, he was a Compliance Officer from 1996 to 2001 at AIG Global Investment Group, Inc. Mr. Daniele holds an MBA from Hofstra School of Business and a BBA from Hofstra University. He also holds FINRA licenses Series 7, 24 and 63.
Job Titles:
- Head of Americas Distribution for Nomura Asset Management U.S.a. Inc
- INSTITUTIONAL INVESTOR INQUIRIES
Mr. Freeman is the Head of Americas Distribution for Nomura Asset Management U.S.A. Inc. He joined Nomura in 2011 to expand the America's institutional client base and also develop the global alternative investment business for the firm. He has over 30 years of financial industry experience with major Wall Street firms. Prior to Nomura, he worked in business development at FrontPoint Partners/Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Prior to FrontPoint, he was the U.S. Head of Business Development for UBS O'Connor, the alternative asset management business of UBS. Prior to UBS O'Connor, Mr. Freeman spent 15 years in Japan on the sell-side covering global macro and fixed income relative value hedge funds for UBS Securities, Lehman Brothers and Nomura Securities. He received a BA in Business Administration from Washington State University and holds Series 7, 24 and 63 licenses.
Job Titles:
- Chief Administrative Officer of Nomura Asset Management U.S.a. Inc
Mr. Masuda joined in 2022 as Chief Administrative Officer of Nomura Asset Management U.S.A. Inc. Previously he was Chief Project Manager in the Asset Management Research Center at Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. since 2020. Mr. Masuda was a Managing Director in the Product Planning & Development Department from 2018 to 2020. He served as a General Manager at Nomura Bank (Luxembourg) S.A., responsible for Client Support and Fund Administration from 2017 to 2018, and as Deputy General Manager, responsible for Investment Management Liaison and Client Support, from 2012 to 2017. He was a Senior Fund Manager at Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd, responsible for Advisory Fund Management from 2002 to 2011, and a Fund Manager, responsible for Global Bond Management from 1998 to 2002. He worked at Nomura Trust and Banking Co., Ltd. from 1997 to 1998 as a Manager responsible for Fund Accounting and began his career at Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd., in 1994. Mr. Masuda graduated from Tokyo University of Science in 1994 with a Bachelor's Degree in Science, and holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certificate authorized by Japan Financial Gerontology Institute (JFGI).
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Portfolio Manager With NCRAM
Steve Kotsen, CFA, is a Managing Director and Portfolio Manager with NCRAM. He joined NCRAM in December 1998 and has been a portfolio manager for NCRAM's high yield bond investments since 2000. Upon joining NCRAM he worked as a credit analyst primarily responsible for the Gaming, Lodging, Leisure, Metals and Mining, Chemicals, Homebuilding, Building Products, Printing, Publishing, and Shipping industries. From July 1995 until December 1998 he was a portfolio manager at Lazard Frères Asset Management for a $2 billion investment-grade portfolio. Thereafter, he became a generalist high yield research analyst and later managed an $85 million double-B rated high yield portfolio. Mr. Kotsen received his M.B.A. in Finance from Columbia Business School in 1995, and his B.A. in International Relations from Princeton University in 1991. Mr. Kotsen is a CFA® charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Job Titles:
- Managing Director and Portfolio Manager With NCRAM
Steven Rosenthal, CFA, is an Managing Director and Portfolio Manager with NCRAM. He is the portfolio manager of NCRAM's European High Yield Strategy, having managed it since its 2012 inception, and he is the Co-Portfolio Manager of our Global High Yield Strategy with David Crall since 2019. He also supervises NCRAM's activities in the Leveraged Loan market. From 2010-2016 he was the co-portfolio manager of the long/short strategy. He had been the assistant portfolio manager of the long/short strategy during 2009. In 2005 he spearheaded the firm's establishment of a dedicated distressed capability and was the primary analyst following the distressed universe through 2009. Prior to that, he had been an analyst in the high yield group at NCRAM for various industries including Gaming, Lodging & Leisure, Metals & Mining, Homebuilding and Building Products and Wireline Telecommunications since 2000. Mr. Rosenthal received his B.A. in History from Yale University in 2000. He is a CFA® charterholder, a member of the CFA Institute, and a member of the New York Society of Security Analysts.
Job Titles:
- CEO
- President
- President and Chief Executive Officer of Nomura Asset Management U.S.a Inc
Mr. Nomoto is President and Chief Executive Officer of Nomura Asset Management U.S.A Inc. following his appointment in April 2019. He is also a Managing Director and head of Global Business Strategy Department of Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. and a Board of Director of Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management Inc. Mr. Nomoto began his career at Nomura in 1995 in the Investment Information Department. From 2001 to 2005, he was a Manager in the Product Planning then Retail Marketing Departments at Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. and Nomura BlackRock Asset Management Co., Ltd., respectively. Mr. Nomoto was a Senior Marketing Executive from 2005 to 2007 in the Financial Institution Marketing Department at Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. From 2007 to 2010, Mr. Nomoto worked in the U.S.A. Inc., first with Nomura Corporate Research and Asset Management Inc. and then with Nomura Asset Management U.S.A. Inc. as Director of the Japan Marketing Team. He returned to Nomura Asset Management Co., Ltd. from 2010 to 2016 as a Senior Manager and Head of various Departments, including the Marketing Planning Team in Product Marketing, NISA Project Team in Retail Clients Strategy, and Investment Trust Marketing. Mr. Nomoto joined Nomura Asset Management U.S.A. Inc. in 2016 as an Executive Director and Head of Client Services and Marketing, and was promoted to Managing Director in 2018. Mr. Nomoto has 24 years of financial, client service, and product marketing experience. He graduated from Waseda University in 1995 with a B.A. in Commerce.