Nomura hires UBS's Ravi Raju in Asia wealth push

INVESTMENT bank Nomura on Thursday appointed Ravi Raju as head of international wealth management, a newly created role.

Based in Singapore, Mr Raju will be responsible for expanding Nomura's wealth management business in Asia ex-Japan as the firm looks to tap the growing ranks of wealthy individuals in the region.

He will work closely with the global markets and investment banking businesses to develop product offerings and drive a "unified solutions-led coverage effort", especially for entrepreneurs, family offices and external asset managers, Nomura said in a press statement.

Mr Raju joined the firm from UBS, where he was head of the ultra high net worth and global family office in Asia-Pacific.

Prior to UBS, he was with Deutsche Bank for 10 years, based in Singapore and Hong Kong, as head of wealth management for Asia-Pacific.

At Nomura, Mr Raju will report to Rig Karkhanis, deputy head of global markets and head of global markets, Asia ex-Japan, with an additional reporting line to head of wholesale Steve Ashley.

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Mr Karkhanis noted that Mr Raju has decades of experience across global platforms integrating markets and investment banking for high-net-worth clients.

This experience will be "invaluable" as Mr Raju builds the business for Nomura in Asia and subsequently when he extends that expertise to other global wealth management centres, added Mr Karkhanis.

From April this year, Nomura's wealth management business in Asia ex-Japan has been aligned under the wholesale division.

"We are already a top wealth manager in Japan, and Ravi coming on board will enable us to capture a share of the growing wealth pool in the rest of Asia," said Mr Ashley.