Bloomberg Launches Japan Chapter of Women’s Buy-side Network

Tokyo — Bloomberg is pleased to announce the launch of the Japan chapter of its Bloomberg Women’s Buy-side Network (“BWBN”), the latest addition to an expanding buy-side community that began in Singapore and has since expanded to India and Hong Kong. The Japan chapter was officially launched at the annual Bloomberg’s Buy-side Forum 2020 Tokyo, a forum for leaders in asset management which featured Japan’s Minister for Environment Shinjiro Koizumi this year.

Established in 2018, the BWBN is a community for women in the asset management industry, who hold a shared vision of building the next generation of female buy-side leaders in Asia. The Japan chapter is the first women’s buy-side network of its kind in the country and will serve as a support system for its members, promote meritocracy and inclusion in the industry, and educate on the diversity of career paths in the buy-side through meaningful engagement and active mentorship.

Leading the community as executive members and advisors for the Japan chapter are:

• Junko Nakagawa, President & CEO of Nomura Asset Management
• Kazuko Sakaguchi, President & CEO of AllianceBernstein Japan
• Rieko Shimojo, Executive Vice President at Bayview Asset Management
• Tomiji Akabayashi, Director and Executive Vice President at Nippon Life Insurance Company
• Noriko Suzumura, Head of Bloomberg Japan’s Portfolio & Index Business

Launching the Japan chapter via a video message, Bloomberg LP Chairman Peter T. Grauer said, “I have been a long advocate of diversity and inclusion, because amongst many reasons, it is a business imperative. Now more than ever, success in asset management requires greater diversity of thought and perspective to keep pace with the rate of change and disruption, and the move towards sustainable investing. Ultimately, more women in the buy-side will bring about greater diversity of thought to the financial sector, and enable more sustainable and inclusive businesses.”

“I’m very honored to participate in the Japan Chapter of BWBN and to share in its vision to support the next generation of female leaders,” said Junko Nakagawa of Nomura Asset Management. “While the concept of diversity is not limited to gender, I feel that Japan faces a particular challenge in this area. In a changing business environment, greater diversity in the buy-side will bring about positive transformation in both the industry and society at large. Having more women playing an active role in asset management will make the industry stronger.”

Kazuko Sakaguchi, President & CEO of AllianceBernstein Japan, added: “It is a great honor to be part of BWBN. There is much Japan can learn by joining this regional network, and I hope we can leverage its international expertise to make a positive impact on Japan’s buy-side industry. With the COVID-19 pandemic, we are living in unprecedented times, making it extremely difficult to predict the future. And so, as an industry, particularly as we enter an era when people are living longer and longer, we must come together to promote the benefits of asset building and sustainable capital allocation.”

“It is such an exciting opportunity to take part in the launch of the Japan chapter of the BWBN,” said Rieko Shimojo of Bayview Asset Management. “Leading a boutique asset management company, where over 40% of the 67 employees are women, I’ve never felt dissatisfied at the lack of female representation at Bayview Asset Management. It was therefore a wake-up call for me to learn that female representation in the buy-side is lower than other parts of the financial industry. I strongly believe that we should always be striving to address social issues so that individuals are able to achieve their goals regardless of gender or other aspects of their identity.”

“The buy-side not only plays an important role in promoting and supporting the sustainable growth of private companies, it also contributes to society at large through ESG,” said Tomiji Akabayashi of Nippon Life Insurance Company. “For Japanese companies doing business globally and competing to grow in different markets, it is essential to understand and learn about various values and views from within and outside of companies. Diversity in the buy-side should be welcomed by all.”

Over the coming months, the Japan chapter plans to introduce key initiatives to convene present and future buy-side female leaders and build this burgeoning community.

If you are interested in being part of this network, please reach out to bwbnjp@bloomberg.net. For more information on the Bloomberg Women’s Buy-side Network, click here.