12/05/2010 Author: Elana Margulies

Japanese growth drives new launches

Amid positive forecasts for Japan’s economic growth and a recovering Nikkei, hedge fund managers have started to capitalise on the region’s emerging opportunities with a number of Japan-focused launches.

JH Whitney Investment Management and NewSmith Asset Management are among the investment firms that have launched new Japan strategies, HFMWeek can reveal, following a period of stellar performance for funds focused on the region.  

According to performance data from HSBC, Japanese funds have produced some of the top returns in the industry this year. GAM’s Japan Equity Hedge Fund is up 16.89% YTD through the end of April, Arcus Investments’ Arcus Japan Fund returned 15.45% and Henderson Global Investors’ Henderson Japan ABS Return Fund generated 12.06% during this time period.

The JHWhitney launch debuted last month. Called the Whitney Japan Tactical Fund, it is a long/short Japan equity strategy managed by Brendan Bibro.

Meanwhile, NewSmith Asset Management added a new offering to its existing Japanese equities products last quarter. The NewSmith Japan New Horizons 2x Levered Fund is a Japanese long/short equity strategy, managed by Jun Yamamoto.

Ari Bergmann, founder of New York-based Penso Advisors, has noticed an increase in Japan-focused launches this year, as the country pulls strongly out of recession. “Japan is viewed right now as a flight to safety,” he said.

Citigroup’s Japan Strategy Overview also indentified Japanese equities as a viable option for investors, arguing that they offer the most appeal of any major developed economy market.

“Since the start of the year, percentage gains for Japanese equities have been high in the global rankings,” the report stated. “Japan is the only major country that is intensifying monetary easing.