A few weeks ago Nikko announced that they hired Asia industry celebrity Blair Pickerell to head up the region, side by side with Tim McCarthy. Japan, as it turns out, for a while now has been working hard to eliminate the Asia “ex-Japan” distinction in an attempt to become a regional force.

Which makes sense, if you think about it, given all the thematic success stories with crossover appeal in recent years. Nowadays NRI and others focus on roadshows and research trips to HK, Singapore and Taiwan in lieu of London and NY.

Whether Nikko indeed will become the next Jardine Fleming remains to be seen, but the region by and large is definitely flexing its muscle – remember Tony Tan in Davos? (“a once in a lifetime opportunity for Asian firms to grab global market share”).

Mirae is beefing up international efforts, ICICI is pushing in Europe, OCBC is sub advisor for the latest regional QDII themes, ten out of ten Chinese asset managers now have offices in HK, Macquarie buying Delaware, Bank of China launching a private bank in Geneva with renminbi denominated Swiss equity funds, Pickerell joining Nikko, and the list goes on.

Thus, leading international fund managers these days look at China and the region as their biggest competitors in 3-5 years. Strategic planning post-crisis not only has to address the shrinking list of partners and select lists for professional fund buyers and the complex mix of centralized advisory efforts vs. local decision making, or the balance between fixed income and equity strategies and thematic vs. core investment categories.

A growing component will be to benefit from Asian wealth (collaboration) while defending global market share from Asian firms that see a golden age for their business (competition).