Nordea has been present in Singapore since 1980 offering full-scale corporate banking services to its customers throughout the South East Asian markets, the Indian subcontinent and Australasia. With the setup of a dedicated fund distribution unit, operating out of Singapore, Nordea Asset Management intends to leverage the existing relationships with global wealth managers. Some of which have already signed global agreements with Nordea Asset Management.
For Christophe Girondel, Head of Distribution, this move is another important step in strengthening Nordea Asset Management’s position as a worldwide fund provider. “Global wealth managers expect us to offer services and dedicated support across the globe in their relevant time zone. Going forward they will increasingly seek efficiency in their product selection; for example they will continue to leverage not only in Europe but across the world in all their Private Banking units. Against this background it is vital for us to be present on the ground.”
The new distribution team is headed by Philippe Graffart, Head of Fund Distribution Asia Pacific, who has 15 years of financial industry experience and is also a CFA charterholder. Philippe is supported by Client Relationship Manager Linda Chang Andersson who is fluent in English, Mandarin, Swedish and Taiwanese. As a first step the team will offer Nordea Asset Management’s investment expertise and fund solutions in Singapore and Hong Kong.
“Our goal is to build long-term relationships with our clients” says Christophe Girondel. “We intend to create a sustainable footprint in the region. As a first step the focus will be Singapore and Hong Kong, but we are also exploring possibilities to find partnerships in Taiwan. To fortify our ambitions Philippe is supported by Client Relationship Manager Linda Chang Anderssonfor now.” The new team has only been up and running for a short time but they have quickly gathered speed with great success in their fund manager road shows on European High Yield and US equities, which have already attracted promising net flows