A former head of key clients and family offices at the wealth arm of Barclays is joining Nikko Asset Management, shifting to Japan as part of the move.

In a move suggesting it is keen to win business from family offices and similar institutions, Nikko Asset Management has hired Stefanie Drews, former global head of key clients and family offices at Barclays’ wealth arm.

In this role, she will be global head of institutional marketing and proposition and moves to Tokyo from the UK later this year, it said in a statement.

Nikko said the move was made as it “continues to invest in its institutional platform and solutions business globally”. The firm has $168 billion of asseets under management.

“We feel very fortunate to have Stefanie join Nikko Asset Management as we take our institutional business to the next level,” said Hideo Abe, executive vice chairman of Nikko Asset Management.

Her role was created in line with the firm’s strategy of increasing its business in the institutional arena, the Japanese firm said.

Among other roles, Drews has been a managing director in Morgan Stanley’s Private Wealth Management business, where she ran an investment management programme for institutional clients as well as high-net-worth individuals.

This publication interviewed Drews, who left Barclays some time ago, in May 2011.