Murata (pictured below) will be based in Tokyo and report to Manabu Fujita, who is head of M&G Investments Japan.

Tomoaki Murata

Joining from PineBridge Investments Japan, where he served as senior vice president and head of retail and intermediary sales, Murata has more than three decades’ experience in Japan’s asset management and financial services industry, In his new role, he will lead the commercial development of M&G’s wholesale business in Japan and seek to establish strong distribution partnerships amongst the broad intermediary landscape including banks and securities firms. Prior to this, Murata worked at global asset managers including, Manulife Investment Management, BlackRock, and Fidelity, as well as at Shinkin Central Bank.

Earlier this year, M&G announced a strategic partnership with Dai-Ichi Life Holdings, in an agreement designed to generate at least $6 billion in new business flows into M&G-managed funds over the next five years. 

“Japan is a pivotal market for M&G and strengthening our distribution capability is essential as we continue to make our investment capabilities more widely available across the region,” Amy Cho, head of Asia-Pacific, M&G Investments, said. “The needs of intermediaries and investors in Japan are evolving, and having the right local expertise is vital to supporting clients effectively. Tomoaki’s extensive experience and longstanding relationships across Japan’s financial sector will be invaluable as we deepen our engagement in the market and broaden access to M&G’s global investment capabilities.”

Recent additions at M&G included Kristy Wong (head of intermediary distribution, Greater China), Alfred Foo (head of intermediary distribution, Southeast Asia) and Lesley Lo (head of institutional distribution, Asia-Pacific).