Takuma Mizuguchi has joined Julius Baer as Team Head/Senior Relationship Manager of the newly established Japan desk in Singapore. In this new role, he will drive the Bank’s Japan coverage out of Singapore to serve some of the most sophisticated clients in the region, for whom the city state has become a location of choice for both their businesses and families.

Reporting to Wolfgang Humbert-Droz, Market Head Japan, Takuma Mizuguchi will work closely with the teams locally and regionally. Additional professionals are expected to join the team later in the year. The Japan desk in Singapore completes Julius Baer’s global setup for Japan, which includes existing desks in Zurich, Geneva and Hong Kong.

Takuma Mizuguchi brings to his new role over 20 years of experience in the banking industry and a deep understanding of the local markets. Prior to joining Julius Baer, he was Director of the Japan International Team of Credit Suisse in Singapore from 2012 to 2015. Before that, he had been Executive Director of the Private Banking Department at Nomura Securities for seven years and held various senior roles at the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, respectively.

Also as of 2 November 2015, Stefan Hofer has been appointed as Head Business Development of TFM’s Tokyo office. He reports to Hirokazu Mikuniya, TFM’s Representative in Japan, and will work closely with the local team to drive the business growth in the country.

TFM Asset Management AG (TFM) is a Switzerland- and Japan-registered independent asset management company with offices in Tokyo and Zurich, in which Julius Baer has held a 60% equity participation since 2013. The company holds investment management and investment advisory licences, both registered with the Japanese FSA, and concentrates predominantly on serving Japanese high net worth private clients.

Prior to rejoining the Julius Baer Group, Stefan Hofer was Chief Investment Advisor for Asia at BNP Paribas Wealth Management for one year. Previously, he had been Emerging Market Strategist of Bank Julius Baer, responsible for the macroeconomic coverage of emerging markets from 2007 to 2014. He was also the main author of the ‘Julius Baer Wealth Report: Asia’, now in its fifth year.

In order to leverage Julius Baer’s strong brand for the Group’s local business in Japan, it has been decided to rename TFM ‘Julius Baer Wealth Management’, pending regulatory approvals.

“Our Japan business has experienced significant growth in recent years and continues to offer promising business opportunities. We therefore focus on adding talent to keep this positive momentum and expand our client coverage. Establishing a new Japan desk in Singapore was an important step in this regard, as the city is a major hub for our clientele. I am very pleased that we have been able to hire Takuma and that Stefan rejoined Julius Baer in Tokyo. Their vast expertise will help us in providing best-in-class wealth advisory service to our sophisticated clientele,” said Wolfgang Humbert-Droz, Market Head Japan.