PlusFunds Group, Inc. has appointed Tokyo based Yoshiro Okawa to represent it in the Japanese market. Okawa will be presenting the concept of the S&P Hedge Fund Index to banks, institutional investors as well as via retail channels.
“The Japanese market is showing great interest in adopting hedge fund index products,” Okawa said. “This said however, there is a tendency for this market to favor instruments and benchmarks that have a more conservative profile. The S&P Hedge Fund Index enjoys a low volatility environment, characterized by an annual standard deviation of roughly 2.5%, compared to 4-4.5% on the U.S. Ten-Year note. In addition, this market will favor products with a transparent fee structure.”
Earlier in his career, Okawa was a Japanese Equity Fund manager at Morgan Stanley Asset Management, which he joined in 1987. Following that, in 1995, he was appointed head of the Sales and Marketing Department, where his responsibilities encompassed Retail (Mutual Funds) and Institutions (Pension Funds). In 1999, Okawa joined Prudential Mitsui Trust I.T.M. as a director of sales and promoted 401K Funds.