Exploring the Buy Side in Japan

One of the great challenges when it comes to writing about issues pertaining to Asia is that there is a massive time difference and an even greater language barrier. Being that I've never been to Asia, the only first-hand information I have comes from interviewing members of the investment and vendor communities from the region who meet me here in New York.

That is about to change change. On the 21st I am flying out to Tokyo, where I'll stay for a week. On the 24th at the Conrad Tokyo, Incisive is hosting the Tokyo Financial Information Summit, which will focus on market data and reference data issues, and the Tokyo Trading Architecture Summit, which will focus on trading technologies and regulatory issues.

While I'm out there, one thing that I'd like to understand better is why you don't hear that much about the buy-side community in Japan; or maybe that's just my perception since I've yet to get some first-hand experience. While Asia is a targeted area for hedge fund investment, especially in Japan with the success of the Abenomics stimulus program ─ the name given to the economic policies championed by Prime Minister Shinzō Abe ─ we've been down this road before with mixed results.

As I try to get a better grasp of how the buy-side industry is evolving specifically in Japan, I hope to be able to take as many meetings as possible to figure out the technological and regulatory hurdles that still exist for this emerging market.

If you have an office in Tokyo and would like to speak with me in greater depth about the Japanese marketplace, shoot me an email (anthony.malakian@incisivemedia.com) or give me a call (646-490-3973).

Additionally, this Tuesday we are hosting our annual North American Trading Architecture Summit. While this event has more of a sell-side bent to it, the 9:30 C-Level Panel will feature Michael Radziemski, chief information officer at asset manager Lord Abbett, in addition to Michael McGovern, CIO at Brown Brothers Harriman, Laura Hamilton, CTO at JPMorgan, and Sean Mahon, CTO at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Additionally, there will be a smattering of other buy-siders sitting on various panels throughout the day, and the sponsors in attendance have solutions for both the sell and buy side. I hope to see you there. If you decide to show up and see me walking around, please come say hello.