New York and Hong Kong-based alternative asset manager, Crystal Century Investment, is planning to expand its global platform into Japan under approval of the Japanese government’s Financial Services Agency.
The company has been granted a license to provide alternative investments and asset management services to accredited investors, with operations expected to commence from a Tokyo location during November 2017.
To complement its global presence, Crystal Century Investment will open the Tokyo office as the company expands its investment offering at a time when many investors are faced with what the company calls limited options in the US equity and fixed income markets.
Whilst asset valuations in Western markets appear inflated, the company believes that equity and fixed income valuations in Japan present investors with an opportunity to capitalise on more reasonably valued assets.
Responsible for the development of the Tokyo office, the company has appointed Robin Blake as Chief Executive Officer and Wasaru Asano as Managing Executive Officer.
“Performance of US equities is highly concentrated into a handful of powerful brands, who as a collective are responsible for the large majority of stock market gains and profits. US asset valuations are inflated, essentially forcing investors to take on more risk for an anticipated level of return. Since 2013, under the metric of enterprise value, US companies have become around 23 per cent more expensive,” says Blake. “As value investors, we here at Crystal Century Investment have identified a growing number of small to mid-cap Japanese companies that demonstrate a number of attributes we look for as part of our value investment philosophy. Profits are rising and price-to-book valuations remain highly attractive. As we continue to attract an evolving client profile, we remain focused on presenting these capabilities to enhance investment performance for all investor types.”
