Investment bank Morgan Stanley has appointed Takayuki Saito as head of electronic trading in Japan. As executive director, he will oversee all low-touch trading capabilities in Japan. Saito, who has more than ten years experience in the industry, started his new role in early August and is located in Tokyo.
Saito joined the bank from rival investment firm UBS Securities, where he was head of direct execution services. The move is part of an ongoing effort by Morgan Stanley to boost its presence in Asia, with an emphasis on electronic execution. Saito's appointment follows the hiring of Zach Tuckwell, head of pan-Asian trading in January 2010 and that of Steve Davis, head of electronic trading and program trading and transition management in November 2009.
On 22 June 2010, Morgan Stanley launched a new Algorithm Manager tool in the region which is expected to see high frequency trading volumes increase, following the investment in supporting infrastructure by trading platforms such as the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Singapore Stock Exchange .