The European group has been operating for almost a decade and now a Singapore cousin organisation is off the launchpad.

An asset management “think tank” founded in Europe almost a decade ago is launching operations in Singapore, aiming to tap demand for its services in the region.

New City Initiative, or NCI, was formed in 2010 to give wealth and asset managers more of a voice at a time when such organisations, so their leaders thought, were not sufficiently visible on policymakers’ radar after the 2008 market crash. At present, there are 45 asset management firms in Europe, with total AuM of about $500 billion, and the new Singapore group has 11 founding members. 

NCI Singapore is chaired by Timothy Hay, chief executive of Somerset Capital Management’s office in the Asian city-state.

“We are very proud of what NCI has achieved over the last nine years in promoting the values and interests of boutique asset managers, and we feel the time is now right to expand our geographical presence,” Jamie Carter, NCI chairman, said. 

In recent years a number of independent asset managers, or external asset managers, have been set up in Asia, alongside a number of single and multi-family offices. In some cases, these organisations are founded by senior managers breaking away from large banks, a trend that has been under way in markets across the world. 

Both NCI branches in Europe and Singapore, along with their combined membership, will work with the Monetary Authority of Singapore and the UK Financial Conduct Authority to open up and increase opportunities between the two markets as they share experiences and ideas. This includes supporting MAS’s efforts to develop the Variable Capital Company fund structure, on which NCI will hold a meeting next month with London members and a delegation from MAS.