BlackRock has named a Morgan Stanley, KKR and Goldman Sachs executive to serve the "increasingly sophisticated" investment goals of its institutional clients across Asia- Pacific.

BlackRock has appointed Hiroyuki Shimizu (pictured) as head of institutional for Asia-Pacific. Based in Hong Kong, he will join the firm in the second quarter of 2022. 

Shimizu, who will also assume the role of president of BlackRock Japan, subject to local board approval, will support the chief executive, representative director, and head of Japan Hiroyuki Arita to serve the firm’s Japan client business. 

Shimizu was most recently global co-head of private credit and equity distribution, head of Japan and Korea, as well as president and representative director of Japan at Morgan Stanley Investment Management. Prior to that, he was CEO of KKR Capital Markets Japan, leading its fundraising and financing efforts. Shimizu spent 15 years at Goldman Sachs in Japan where he led distribution for special situations group, credit and alternatives sales, and later derivatives sales for financial institutions group. 

In his new role, he will be responsible for bringing a full range of solutions to institutional clients’ portfolios. He will partner with country leadership, investment and other business teams to oversee product and client distribution across all institutional investors. 

“We have seen robust asset growth across many of the fast-growing markets in this diverse region, plus rising demand from institutions for increasingly sophisticated whole portfolio solutions that will help them address their risks and opportunities,” Rachel Lord, BlackRock’s chair and head of Asia-Pacific, said. “Hiroyuki brings with him a wealth of institutional client management experience, along with a thorough understanding of local markets and strong track record in the alternatives space. This will greatly benefit our clients, while helping us realise our own growth ambitions in APAC.” 

“Our Japan business is well-placed to progress to the next stage of growth. The appointment of Shimizu-san, who brings a deep understanding of the Japan market, will complement well as we capitalise on the exciting opportunities ahead to help clients address critical challenges around retirement, ESG and building better portfolios,” Hiroyuki Arita, CEO, representative director and head of Japan, said.

“Institutional clients across Asia-Pacific have increasingly sophisticated investment goals – including whole portfolio solutions and alternatives through to sustainable investing. I am very excited to be joining BlackRock and look forward to partnering with the team, with an immense focus on understanding client needs and delivering the firm’s broad spectrum of investment capabilities through tailored solutions,” Hiroyuki Shimizu, head of institutional for Asia-Pacific and president of BlackRock Japan, said.

Hong Kong-based Lord was appointed to head BlackRock’s Asia-Pacific operations last year to facilitate the firm's expansion in China.

Last month the US-listed group consolidated its status as the world’s largest fund manager when it reported assets under management of more than $10 trillion.