Nikko AM, one of Japan’s largest asset managers with USD120billion in AUM (as of September 2010), announced this wePARA_BREAK_SENTINEL_9f8e7d6c

Nikko AM, one of Japan’s largest asset managers with USD120billion in AUM (as of September 2010), announced this week that it had agreed to acquire Sydney-based Tyndall Investments from Suncorp Group, one of Australasia’s largest financial services companies. The deal is believed to be worth around USD80million according to Nikko AM’s official press release, and with Tyndall’s assets worth around USD25billion it will help boost the firm’s overall AUM to USD145billion. More importantly, it would appear to underscore Nikko’s commitment to expanding beyond Japan into the rest of Asia as it aims to become of Asia’s leading asset management firms. It already has a footprint in Singapore, London and New York along with a representative office in Hong Kong from where recent hire, Blair Pickerell, co-ordinates branding as its Global Chief Marketing Officer. One of the reasons for acquiring Tyndall, an award-winning fund manager specializing in a broad range of equity and fixed income products, is that Australia’s mutual fund market is expected to grow at a 13 per cent CAGR over the next decade. Commenting on the deal, Nikko AM’s Chairman and CEO, Timothy McCarthy, said: “We see the business as a perfect match for yield conscious investors internationally, and our own suite of Asian and emerging market products as complementary to Tyndall Investments’ clients and the Australian market-at-large.” Pickerell added: “The Tyndall Investment teams are extremely strong. We look forward to supporting them to grow.”