Business Development Director, Institutional

The Opportunity

An established global asset management firm — known for its institutional-grade investment capabilities across systematic equity, liquid alternatives, and credit — is building its Asia Pacific distribution franchise from the ground up. This is the first dedicated asset management hire in the region.

The firm manages a substantial pool of institutional assets globally, with a strong track record spanning decades. Its investment platform includes actively managed systematic and quantitative equity strategies, a well-established liquid alternatives fund with a billion-dollar-plus track record, and a US CLO strategy with deep institutional backing. ETF launches are also planned for the near term. The business is well-capitalised, with significant investment, marketing, product, and RFP infrastructure already in place across the US and Europe.

Singapore has been chosen as the APAC hub. This is not a satellite office hire reporting into a regional team — you are the regional team. The mandate is clear: build the institutional client base across APAC, starting from your own network, and grow the franchise into a meaningful contributor to the global business.

The Role

This is a hands-on, frontline sales seat. The vast majority of your time will be spent in the field — identifying, engaging, and converting institutional investors across Singapore, Korea, and broader APAC markets.

You will be responsible for:

• Originating and closing new institutional mandates across quantitative/systematic equity strategies, liquid alternatives, and credit products
• Building and managing relationships with sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers, investment consultants, and private banks
• Leading the full sales cycle from initial engagement through due diligence to mandate award — typically 6 months for systematic equity, longer for larger mandates
• Representing the firm credibly in front of CIOs, Heads of Alternatives, and institutional investment committees
• Working closely with London and US-based product specialists, portfolio managers, and marketing teams to support client conversations and RFP responses
• Providing market intelligence on APAC institutional investor appetite, competitive positioning, and distribution opportunities

You report to a senior leader in the asset management division based in London. Day-to-day, you operate with a high degree of autonomy — supported by global resources but not micromanaged. This is not a desk-management role. There is no team to delegate to. If you are looking for a seat where someone else sets the meetings and you show up to present, this is not it.

If you are the kind of person who thrives on building something from nothing — who gets energy from opening doors, not maintaining them — this is one of the most compelling greenfield opportunities in APAC institutional distribution right now.

What Makes You a Fit

You probably have:

• 8–15 years of experience in institutional asset management sales or distribution, ideally with a blend of time at a recognised, large-scale asset manager and a smaller or boutique firm where you had to hustle for every mandate
• A genuine track record of winning new institutional business in APAC — not inherited books, not relationship management of existing clients, but mandates you personally originated and closed
• An established network across APAC institutional investors — sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, insurers, consultants, private banks. You know who allocates to what, and they know you
• Enough technical fluency to sit across the table from a CIO and discuss systematic equity strategies, factor exposures, and risk characteristics without needing a product specialist to translate
• The self-sufficiency to operate as a one-person franchise in a new market. You are comfortable building from zero, managing your own pipeline, and reporting into a global team remotely
• Singapore Citizenship or Permanent Residency (strongly preferred)

It would be a bonus if you also have:

• Experience distributing ETF products or familiarity with OCIO/co-CIO propositions
• MAS Capital Markets Services (CMS) Registered Representative status
• Korean or Japanese language capability for broader APAC coverage
• Exposure to private credit or CLO distribution

What is On Offer

• A competitive base salary with a performance-linked variable component designed to reward sales outcomes — the structure is built for upside, not just comfort
• The career trajectory from founding APAC hire to APAC Head, as the business scales over the next 3–5 years
• Global backing without local bureaucracy — product specialists, marketing, portfolio managers, and RFP teams are available to support your client conversations, but you own the relationships
• A platform with institutional-grade products that have strong, verifiable track records — you are not selling vapourware
• The rare opportunity to shape a regional franchise from scratch at a firm with genuine global scale