About Us

We, Hedgefund Direct (HFD), specialize in investment advisory business introducing global hedge funds directly to high-net-worth individuals in Japan. We are the largest investment advisory company in Japan. Accumulated total amount of investment advisory is approximately JPY 134.4 Billion as of the end of April 2022. We are registered at the Kanto Local Finance Bureau (FIBO No.532).

Note: The above JPY 134.4 billion is the cumulative amount since June 2008, our business inception to the end of April 2022

Why do Japanese high-net-worth individuals rely on HFD?

HFD provides investment advisory and related supporting services with regard to the investment to global high performing quality hedge funds. Those funds are not sold in Japan. However, we are able to provide our own analysis and quality information on those funds to high-net-worth individuals, who are eager to know and have access to such quality funds by themselves.

HFD is not a broker and thus, HFD does not receive any fees or deposits, whatsoever, from funds. Instead, HFD only receives from investment advisory fees from the clients, those high-net-worth individuals, in return for the investment advisory to them.
Based on our advice, the clients make their decision of investment and directly invest their own money to the funds managed by overseas fund management companies.

Our business model is, in other words, structured in such way that HFD receives fees from individual clients based on their investments they carry out. We are, so-to-speak, an "Agent" who completely work for and stands aside of those high-net-worth individuals.

Challenges of the Japanese financial industry and their solutions
(Why have overseas fund management companies been unable to adequately access Japanese high-net-worth individuals?)

From fund management companies' standpoint, diversifying the fund source in their fund is imperative. And individual Japanese high-net-worth investors are seeking for long term investment opportunities. Japan, with the JPY 1500 trillion of total individual financial assets, obviously cannot be ignored as a source of such affluent funds.

In general, for an overseas fund management company to solicit Japanese individual clients, the company must be registered in Japan first and then must rely on a Japanese securities company (broker) with regard to the sales of the fund. However, this gives the overseas fund management company major challenges and therefore, it is generally unsuccessful. The reasons are as follows.

1)*Major securities companies in Japan tend to trade the funds in a short cycle with an aim to gain sales fees. Therefore, from overseas fund companies' perspective, they do not provide long term and stable source of fund flow as a result. For example, even if an overseas fund company sets up, say, a domestic investment trust and consigns its sales activities to a domestic securities company, once the fund balance rapidly increases immediately after formation of the fund, the balance stunningly goes down to nearly zero after two years in many cases. It is simply because such domestic securities company encourage investors to sell to earn commissions.

"With regard to distributors that have been promoting customer-oriented business conduct upon selling investment trusts, etc.,the analysis of their profits reveals decreases in sales amounts accompanying restrictions on churning and declines in sales chargerates, which suggests that their initiatives have yet to lead to profit increases in the short term. Under such circumstances, it isnecessary for distributors to continue investment in human resources development from a long-term perspective in order to further enhance salespersons' skills to make suggestions based on customers' life plans."

Quote：The results of monitoring customer-oriented businessconduct of investment trust distributors (Summary)

"Some of the distributors of investment trusts seem to be encouraging their customers to churn between funds in the short-term to gain profits from transaction fees."

Quote：To turn challenges into opportunities

2)*It requires extensive time and costs to register overseas funds in Japan.

Due to the regulations and distribution environment as such, excellently performing overseas hedge funds are not being adequately introduced to Japanese investors who wants such investment opportunities.

HFD solves this issue by developing a business scheme which allows individual clients to invest directly to global hedge funds without solicitation of HFD or overseas fund companies.

The direct investment scheme brings a "win-win" situation to both overseas funds and Japanese high-net-worth individuals. And this business model has received a great praise from many high-profile management companies and Japanese clients. HFD has brought a revolutionary change to Japanese financial industry.

That is why HFD has become the largest independent investment advisory company, dedicated to global hedge funds, for high-net-worth investors in Japan.

Our Business Model

The Funds offered in Japan account for only 6% of those offered in the world. This is a big "Opportunity Loss".

HFD will globalize Japanese Individual Investors by supporting Direct Investments in carefully selected Global Hedge Funds.

Over more than 10 years, we have been closely negotiating with regulators and established solid operations. It is difficult for other firms to put similar model into practice even though they understand the concept of our business.

Our global hedge funds selection criteria for the investment advisory service

- Is this suitable for long term investment (Track record of 10 years and its reproducibility)

- Has it received any awards?

Please contact us if you are interested in adding your global hedge funds in HFD advisory.