Stanley Siu, the ERS's administrator, said that Nomura Capital executives in New York called him yesterday to assure him that questionable trades do not involve the retirement system's investments.

Nomura Capital manages about $185 million of ERS's investments in Asia but most of the money manager's trades are executed by brokerages other than Nomura Securities, Siu said. ERS trustees will next meet April 15.

"Management assured us that there will be no effect," Siu said.

Nomura Securities revealed last week that two managing directors improperly channeled trading profits to select clients. Those clients have been linked to "sokaiya" organized crime groups by NHK public television and the Nihon Keizai newspaper.

Japan's Securities and Exchange Surveillance Commission has been investigating the transactions since September and will conclude its probe soon, Nomura said.

Siu noted that Nomura Capital's investments for the ERS in Asia declined 3.8 percent in 1996 due largely to Japan's sagging stock market. Last year, the Nikkei stock index dropped about 6 percent.

The latest scandal has prompted others to reconsider their investments managed by Nomura companies.

The California pension fund, known as Calpers, said it will review its $724 million fund-management contract with Nomura Capital.

Meanwhile, executives from the Kansas Public Employees' Retirement System said they also would discuss their dealings with Nomura Capital at board meetings later this month. Nomura Capital manages $136 million for the Kansas fund.

The Colorado Public Employees Retirement Association, another Nomura Capital client, said it had studied information provided by Nomura Capital and that it was satisfied that the money manager was not involved in any way with the trading scandal.