Global securities and investment banking firm Jefferies said yesterday it has hired Naomi Kumagai, Makarim Salman and Masahiro Wakasugi as senior equity research analysts based in Tokyo.
Kumagai will cover healthcare, Salman will cover the financial services and insurance sectors, and Wakasugi will cover technology.
Kumagai joins the firm from Macquarie Capital Securities, where she spent three years as a senior equity research analyst covering healthcare and pharmaceutical companies. Previously, she worked in business development at Banyu Pharmaceutical, a subsidiary of Merck, and prior to that worked as an equity research analyst at Deutsche Trust Bank and Goldman Sachs, focusing on healthcare companies. She also held project management roles at Eli Lilly and clinical development roles at Pfizer in Japan and the US.
Salman joins the firm from Macquarie Capital Securities, where he spent three years as a senior equity research analyst covering insurance and securities companies. Previously, he worked in the insurance industry for seven years as an insurance risk officer at ING Life Japan and an executive adviser at KPMG, and prior to that, spent four years at HBOS Financial Services in a variety of roles.
Wakasugi joins the firm from AllianceBernstein, where he spent 10 years and was most recently a senior vice-president and equity research analyst. Previously, he spent four years in Mitsubishi UFJ's management consulting team.
“The addition of these experienced analysts is another step in the continued expansion of Jefferies’ Asian equities business,” said Michael Alexander, CEO of Jefferies Asia, in a press release.
Jefferies now has 15 equity research analysts covering over 75 companies in Asia. It is establishing a full-service equity sales, trading, and research platform in Asia with a focus on Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, India, Korea and Taiwan.
In May, the firm hired Sean Huang from UBS in New York to become head of securities finance trading in Asia. In April, Jefferies hired six new managing directors in Asia. And, in March, it appointed Naomi Fink as Japan strategist.
The firm’s equities business now consists of more than 700 professionals globally, including more than 200 outside the US. As part of the firm’s ongoing build-out in the region, Jefferies executives say they plan to continue to add equities professionals and expand research coverage accordingly.
