Nomura: Meeting evolving client needs in wealth management

Top management members at Nomura Singapore Limited elaborate on the considerable growth opportunity that the Middle East affords stakeholders in the wealth management space and how Nomura International Wealth Management plays critical roles in meeting demand.

Harish Hemandas, Head of Coverage for the Middle East and Europe & Senior Executive Officer, Nomura Singapore Limited, DIFC Branch

The Middle East represents a significant growth opportunity for Nomura’s International Wealth Management (IWM) business, driven by substantial growth in sovereign wealth and family offices and increasing demand for sophisticated financial services. Success requires a multi-faceted approach combining strategic leadership, comprehensive product offerings and targeted talent acquisition.

Our IWM team benefits from an integrated model leveraging on the global capabilities of Nomura Group including our Global Markets and Investment Banking businesses. From our Dubai office, we offer our clients a full range of products and services, allowing them to fully benefit from Nomura’s global expertise in various areas including Investment Advisory, Wealth Planning, Asset Management and institutional coverage.

Personally, having called the Gulf region my home since birth and spending over 35 years in the financial services industry in Dubai, I have had the privilege of seeing the evolution of the UAE and its unprecedented success owing to the strategic foresight of the country’s esteemed leaders.

Leveraging on my previous financial markets and institutional banking experience, I understand the importance of translating that expertise into client-focused wealth strategies through strong risk management expertise, effective client engagement, access to sophisticated products and strong execution. My experiences at previous organizations have shaped my leadership and client advisory approach to be both people-centric and outcome-driven.

Working across diverse teams and client environments has taught me that effective leadership starts with listening – understanding team strengths, client priorities and the context behind challenges before proposing solutions. I have learned to lead by setting clear expectations, empowering my team to take ownership and creating an environment where feedback flows both ways. This has helped build trust, improve execution, and maintain accountability without micromanagement.

Nomura IWM in the Middle East is well-positioned to implement our strategy working closely with our Global Markets and Investment Banking colleagues. This is a unique proposition that enables us to holistically serve our clients’ financial and investment needs.

Additionally, we can effectively facilitate investments in global markets as well as Japanese real estate, equities, bonds and private markets. On the client advisory side, exposure to complex situations reinforces the importance of being a strategic partner rather than a service provider. At Nomura IWM, we focus on asking the right questions, translating technical and operational details into actionable insights and aligning recommendations with our clients’ broader investment objectives. Overall, these experiences have made us more adaptable, empathetic and proactive, enabling us to balance strategic thinking with practical execution while maintaining strong relationships.

We have recently moved to our new premises in Dubai International Financial Centre, the leading global financial hub in the Middle East. The opening of our new office reinforces Nomura’s commitment to cater to our expanding team in Dubai and to better serve our growing client franchise in this region.

Going forward, our key priorities are talent acquisition with a focus on the Middle East, further enhancing our product suite, building out our technology and digital platform and developing Shariah-compliant offerings across our product suite. Ultimately, the key to success is to balance Nomura’s global expertise with our deep local market understanding and experience, while remaining compliant with the region’s evolving regulatory framework.

Anurag Mahesh, Head of Coverage for Southeast Asia, Global South Asia and Middle East, Nomura Singapore Limited

The wealth management landscape across Southeast Asia, Global South Asia, and the Middle East is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Rapid wealth creation, intergenerational wealth transition and rising sophistication among family offices are redefining client expectations, ushering in a new era that demands global connectivity, advising on global investment solutions, and seamless access to both public and private markets.

At the centre of this transformation are Singapore and Dubai, now firmly established as the dual hubs powering the flow of global capital across Asia, South Asia and the Middle East. Singapore has emerged as the preferred base for Southeast Asian and South Asian family offices, thanks to regulatory stability, deep financial infrastructure and its role as a gateway to global markets. Dubai, meanwhile, has evolved into a dominant wealth centre for the Middle East and a rising hub for South Asian entrepreneurs offering business-friendly regulation and proximity to regional Ultra High Net Worth families.

Together, Singapore and Dubai form a powerful dual-access corridor for global wealth, linking Asia’s economic dynamism with the Middle East’s expanding capital pools. Our relationship managers across both centres are uniquely positioned to meet the increasingly cross-border ambitions of our clients.

Across Southeast Asia, entrepreneurial wealth continues to expand, with clients seeking multi-jurisdictional structuring, succession and governance advice, and curated access to global private markets and hedge funds. In Global South Asia, first-generation wealth creators and pre-IPO founders are increasingly seeking liquidity solutions, creation of formal wealth structures such as trusts and family offices, and deeper access to private credit, hedge funds, venture capital and co-investment opportunities. In the Middle East, the growth of sophisticated family offices, combined with a strong interest in hedge funds and private markets, real assets and bespoke Shariah-compliant structures, is redefining the region’s wealth landscape.

Against this backdrop, Nomura International Wealth Management has positioned itself to play a leading role in meeting evolving client needs. What differentiates Nomura is the ability to combine the strengths of its Wealth Management platform with the full capabilities of Nomura’s Global Markets, Investment Banking and Asset Management businesses. This integrated model enables the firm to offer clients a seamless spectrum of solutions. This one-bank approach enables the delivery of sophisticated solutions for entrepreneurs, business owners and family offices across corporate liquidity events, hedging, pre-IPO and M&A advisory, and strategic co-investments.

With strong platforms in Singapore and Dubai, Nomura is strategically positioned at the center of the world’s most important emerging wealth corridor. As clients across Asia and the Middle East become increasingly global in their aspirations, Nomura’s integrated approach – combining advisory excellence, global investment access and deep market expertise – places it at the forefront of serving the next generation of wealth.