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May 31, 2006
Japanese investors embrace hedge funds
Japanese pension funds are examining alternative investment vehicles more closely, according to panellists at the Terrapinn Investor Asset Allocation Japan conference in Tokyo.
But Masakazu Arikawa, president for Mcube Investment Solution, Japan, and former president of the Sony Global Pension Management Corporation, highlighted that Japanese investors are often perceived to be "last in and last out" with certain investor trends, such as hedge funds. It is necessary, he added, to have a good grasp of the cycle of hedge funds.
Daisuke Hamaguchi, director of pension investment at the Pension Fund Association in Japan, added that being last in and last out was not necessarily a bad thing as investors must refer to historical data.
"We might be last in and last out, but it's true of everything (in Japan). We have to have a good critical understanding of things."
In another panel discussion Hans-Jorg Baumann, CEO and chairman of Swiss Capital Group, said that hedge funds were by no means a bubble but rather had become an integral part of asset management.
"If you accept that volatility will increase, there is no other way than to enter hedge funds."
Ed Rogers, founder and CEO of Rogers Investment Advisors, used a baseball analogy.
"We're in the eighth inning in the US, the fifth inning in Europe and the first or second in Japan and Asia."
Asian investors have been slower to get on board, but Japanese investors were well-placed.
Stanley Howard, president of Investor Select Advisors, noted that the opportunity for Japanese-based hedge fund managers would grow, including domestic managers who were coming to the fore.
-Global Investor Magazine-
Posted by su at May 31, 2006 11:34 AM