Marshall Wace, the $90 billion U.K. money manager, plans to open a Japan office next year, joining hedge fund peers putting boots on the ground, people with knowledge of the matter have said. The Tokyo office will initially be small and host investment staff, one of the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Pending regulatory approval, it may open in the second half of 2027, he added.
A spokesman for the London-based firm declined to comment. Marshall Wace has long traded in Asia, with Japan being a key market. It opened a Hong Kong office in 2006, bringing to the region its pioneering systematic TOPS market-neutral strategy that farms ideas from equity salespeople.
It still runs a Japan-focused strategy. By late October last year, more than 100 of its roughly 750 employees were based in Asia, investing with a variety of regional and global strategies. All of its Japan-focused investment staff, including Partner Daisuke Iwasaki, are currently based in Hong Kong.
The firm also maintains offices in Shanghai and Singapore, according to its website. Global hedge funds have been looking for ways to boost their Japan presence and investments, as corporate governance improvements and the return of inflation bolster equity and macro trading opportunities in the market. Brevan Howard Asset Management is also opening a Tokyo office this year, people with knowledge of the matter said in April.
Peers including Polymer Capital Management, Millennium Management and Point72 Asset Management have built a sizeable presence in Tokyo. Yet many experienced Japan investment professionals have historically been based elsewhere, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, for reasons including taxes. Executives of various hedge fund firms have expressed dismay over the difficulty to recruit such personnel, either based in Japan or elsewhere, with cultural and language issues exacerbating the supply-demand imbalance as global investors renew interest in the country.
Tokyo’s ambition to attract more asset managers is now facing additional headwinds, as both Hong Kong and Singapore have proposed tax benefits as incentives to lure them.
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