Nick Bird’s OQ Funds Management opened a Japan quantitative hedge fund in September. Within weeks, it raised the maximum $250 million and had to turn away additional money, the former Macquarie Group veteran said.
Meanwhile, Sengu Capital’s hedge fund tapping improving corporate management in Japan has tripled assets to $450 million after trading began in early October, said people familiar with the Hong Kong-based firm. A multi-strategy Japan fund that York Capital Management spinoff MY.Alpha Management opened to external clients in early 2023 now oversees about $700 million.
Their pace of asset gathering, impressive for Asia hedge funds of any stripe these days, highlights how Japan’s deepening corporate governance reforms and exit from more than a decade of deflation have rekindled global investor interest in the world’s fourth-largest economy. It also underscores the dearth of Japan-dedicated funds that have good track records and are able to take sizable amounts of money from large institutions.
