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Japanese put £7.7bn into Man
06.06.08
Hedge fund manager Man Group has trebled funds from Japanese clients in two years to 1.5 trillion yen (£7.7 billion).
Hidehiko Hayashi, president of the London-listed firm's local unit, said the target was reached a year ahead of plan as clients fled a stagnant local stock market for more dynamic investments.
Japanese investors accounted for about £2.5 billion, or 10% of Man's total assets, in March 2006.
The country now accounts for around 20% of Man Group's total $78.5 billion (£40.1 billion) assets, up from some 5% in 2003 when Hayashi took over in Tokyo. Hayashi told Bloomberg: "I'm confident hedge funds will become a mainstream investment.
"The age of traditional investment strategy, where you can make money simply by buying something, is going to end and be replaced by hedge funds that have more leeway in investment strategies."
Man plans to open two funds for individual investors in Japan later this year, Hayashi said.
Profit rose 60% to $2.1 billion in the year to March.
