Unlocking Japan's Market Revival; An Insider's Perspective

Naomi Fink joined Nikko AM in December 2023 as Global Strategist. Prior to joining Nikko AM, Naomi founded Europacifica Consulting in 2013 and concurrently held research positions at Capital Group between 2016 and 2023, most recently as Retirement Economist. In April 2022, Naomi was appointed Chairperson of EBRI’s Retirement Security Research Center, leading research on financial decision-making and portfolios leading up to and in retirement. Before founding Europacifica, Naomi held the position of Chief Japan Strategist and Senior Vice President at Jefferies Japan Limited. Over her career, Naomi has also held senior macroeconomic and strategy research positions across diverse markets, geographies and asset classes at global banks, including Bank of Tokyo Mitsubishi UFJ, BNP Paribas and UBS. Ms. Fink holds an MSc in Specialized Economic Analysis (Macroeconomic Policy and Financial Markets) from Barcelona School of Economics, an M.A. Honours from the University of St. Andrews, and was nominated to the Japan Society of Monetary Economics in 2014. Ms. Fink also is an FRM charter-holder and fellow of Coro’s Women in Leadership program as well as UCLA’s Women in Governance program. Naomi is fluent in Japanese, Spanish, French and English and has held Board Directorships at Coro Southern California and NABE (Los Angeles Chapter).

Brendan Ahern is the Chief Investment Officer at KraneShares. Brendan joined KraneShares in 2013. Brendan leads the firm’s research and education efforts and actively works with investors on a variety of subjects ranging from asset allocation to trading to articulating the growing influence that index providers hold in the asset management industry. Prior experience includes over ten years with Barclays Global Investors (subsequently BlackRock’s iShares), which he joined in 2001 during the rollout of their ETF business. His career has spanned a period of tremendous growth for ETFs, which has contributed to his profound knowledge of the ETF landscape.

Brendan is considered a preeminent expert in global financial markets with a particular focus on China. He is a frequent visitor to China and actively maintains daily contact with a deep local research network comprised of investment banks, brokers, and regional and boutique research firms. He produces a daily update called China Last Night (www.chinalastnight.com), which also appears as a column on Forbes.com. He is often sought after by leading business and financial outlets and regularly appears on CNBC and Bloomberg to discuss China’s capital markets. He is a frequent guest of Bloomberg Radio’s Daybreak Asia, and he is quoted in The Wall Street Journal and Investor’s Business Daily.

Brendan graduated from the College of the Holy Cross and has a Master of Science in Financial Analysis from the University of San Francisco.