Ivy Asset Management Corp., Bank of New York's alternative investments unit, said Wednesday that it is expanding its international presence by opening a branch office in Tokyo.
The Tokyo office is to serve investors in a variety of privately offered fund of hedge fund products, including a mix of portfolio structures that includes proprietary funds, customized portfolios, and private-label funds.
Larry Simon, the president and chief executive officer of Ivy, said the office would let Ivy start an Asia-based investment research program to identify and select Asian hedge fund managers.
Bank of New York has had a presence in Japan since it opened a full-service branch there in 1973. Ivy has had Japanese clients since 1998, and Japan is its second-largest market in terms of economic activity, after the United States.
Mitsuhiro Matsunaga was appointed general manager and director of Asian client development in Ivy's Tokyo branch. Before joining Ivy, Mr. Matsunaga worked for Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. Most recently, he worked for its Daiwa SMBC Securities unit as a deputy general manager focused on hedge fund products.
Ivy had $15 billion of assets under management at Dec. 31.
