Business Development Director, Institutional

About the Opportunity

A well-established global asset manager — part of a larger, listed financial services group with a multi-decade track record and deep institutional roots — is building its Asia Pacific institutional distribution franchise from Singapore. This is the firm's first dedicated asset management hire in the region: a hands-on, frontline sales seat for someone who has already sold public markets investment products to institutional investors across APAC.

You will have the backing of a global platform — investment, product, portfolio management, marketing, legal, compliance, and RFP support across the US and Europe — but in-region, you are building from the ground up. The APAC mandate is product-led, with a clear priority on long-only equity, factor-based, smart beta, systematic, and quantitative equity strategies. Liquid alternatives and credit-related strategies sit within the broader platform, but the core of this seat is opening institutional doors and converting mandates for listed / liquid asset management products.

Singapore is the regional base. You will build the APAC client base starting from your own institutional relationships across Singapore, Korea, and the broader region.

The Role

This is a frontline institutional business development role — not a team-management seat, a regional figurehead position, or a relationship-maintenance desk.

You will:

• Originate and close new institutional business across long-only equity, factor-based, smart beta, systematic, and quantitative equity strategies, and related listed / liquid asset management products
• Build relationships with sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers, investment consultants, central banks, private banks, and other institutional allocators across APAC
• Lead the full sales cycle — from first engagement and investor education through due diligence, RFP / DDQ, and mandate award
• Represent the firm credibly with CIOs, investment teams, consultants, and institutional decision-makers
• Work with global product specialists, portfolio managers, marketing, legal, compliance, and RFP teams to support client conversations
• Provide market intelligence on APAC investor appetite, competitor positioning, pricing, and product demand

You will report into senior asset management leadership overseas. You will have global support, but you will not inherit a local APAC book or a local sales team. The expectation is simple: operate independently, earn the trust of institutional investors, and turn relationships into measurable AUM growth.

What Makes You a Fit

You have likely spent 10–15 years in institutional asset management sales, business development, and relationship management — and you can point to mandates you personally originated and closed, not just relationships you maintained.

You will probably recognise yourself in most of the following:

• You have sold public markets asset management products to institutional investors in APAC, and you can name the investor type, product, market, and AUM raised
• You have specific experience distributing long-only equity, factor-based, smart beta, systematic, or quantitative equity strategies
• Your recent coverage has been direct institutional — sovereign wealth funds, pensions, insurers, investment consultants, central banks, private banks — rather than retail or advisor / intermediary channels
• You can hold your own with a CIO, consultant, or investment committee on equity strategy positioning, factor exposures, portfolio construction, performance drivers, risk, and the due-diligence questions that follow
• You are a hunter who is comfortable building a market from scratch, without inherited accounts or a large local infrastructure
• You hold a degree in Economics, Business, Mathematics, Accounting, Finance, or a related field — a Master's or MBA is a plus
• You are based in Singapore, or can be quickly. Singapore Citizenship or Permanent Residency is preferred

It would be an advantage if you also bring:

• Liquid alternatives distribution experience
• ETF, index, or smart beta distribution experience
• Korea, Japan, or broader North Asia institutional coverage
• US CLO or credit product distribution experience
• MAS Capital Markets Services Registered Representative status

What Is On Offer

• A founding APAC institutional distribution seat within a global asset management platform
• A product-led mandate focused on listed / liquid investment strategies, with full global investment and product support
• The opportunity to build a regional franchise from Singapore and shape the firm's APAC presence from day one
• A performance-linked compensation structure designed to reward new business growth